The Music of Painting
by EndangeredAccord
Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Main Pairing: Fem!ItalyxGermany. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Comments: Hey! This is my first Fanfiction! Well, the first that I've put online! ^_^ I hope you all like it! It isn't the greatest, but I hope it's okay!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, no matter how much I wish I did.**

"Ve~ Lovi," a short, dark-skinned girl shouted across the hallway as she ran to the referred, her chestnut ponytail bouncing up and down to the rhythm of a long hair curl that was completely different to the rest of her locks. As she neared, Lovina shut her locker and turned to the other, an unfriendly look on her face.

"What do you want, Feliciana?" She asked, stepping around the younger and heading for the double doors out of the school. Feliciana followed her, trying to keep up with her sister's quick footsteps. It was quite odd how they looked so much alike, and yet they were so different.

"Ve, I have to finish my art project. I'll be home a little late, so don't worry about me, okay?" She explained happily, a huge smile on her face. The older sputtered and stopped in her tracks, almost causing her sister to run into her.

"Like I would be worried about you! Do what you want." Lovina waved a hand and was off before the younger could say 'pasta'. Feliciana shrugged and skipped away to the art room on the second floor. As she approached the door, some sort of melody drifted out of the room. It was a captivating piano piece, no doubt someone playing some sort of symphony composed by some popular pianist. Feliciana slowly opened the door, so as not to startle whomever was playing. The art room used to be a music room, so there were many instruments posing as paraphernalia.

Once she got the door completely ajar, she stopped in her tracks. Inside, sitting at the grand piano, was a burly blond. His posture was perfect – he had a very strict teacher, no doubt – yet his fingers softly glided over the keys. The piece was hypnotizing, it seemed even the boy was being lulled. His eyes were shut and his head softly bobbed to the music. It was a masterpiece. Feliciana wished she had a camera to preserve what her eyes were taking in, so she could possibly paint it later. Suddenly the music stopped and Feliciana shook her head to jerk herself out of the daze. Staring at her were two beautiful blue eyes, which captivated her completely, more so than the music had.

"Um, please excuse me," the boy said, his cheeks growing pink as he stood up and grabbed his music.

"Oh!" Feliciana exclaimed, shaking her head. "Please don't mind me! I just needed to finish something up. You don't have to go." The blue eyes averted, much to Feliciana's dismay.

"No, I really should be going."

"Oh. That's too bad. I'd hoped to have some company, but I guess being alone is alright." Her tone was horribly sad, and the boy caught a glimpse of disappointment in her eyes.

"Well, I guess I could stay for five more minutes, if you want me to." Feliciana's eyes lit up and her lips quirked into a brilliant smile.

"That would be wonderful!" She cried, quickly making her way across the room. She held out her hand. "My name is Feliciana, but everyone calls me Feli. And what is your name?"

The boy hesitated a moment, not completely sure how to react to someone so peppy. He slowly brought his hand up, shaking hers stiffly. "Mine is Ludwig."

"Ve~, what an odd name! Are you German?" She asked incredulously, still shaking his hand. The blond nodded, a bit embarrassed, and let go of her hand, a small blush forming on his cheeks. He averted his eyes to the floor and scratched the back of his neck.

"So, um, what exactly did you come here to do?" Ludwig asked, looking around the room. She couldn't be in the music class, since he would have met her already. Might she be in the art class?

"Oh! Right! I came to finish my painting!" She ran off to the other side of the room and grabbed a canvas, then stepped over to the easels and wrapped her arm around one of the sides dragging it loudly up next to the piano. A giggle came from her slightly parted lips and she shot a grin up at Ludwig. "Do you paint?" She asked. The German shook his head.

"N-no," he stuttered awkwardly, glancing over at the piano, "playing the piano is my only hobby. I'm not very good at art." Feliciana tilted her head questioningly. How could someone not be good at art? It was a form of expression, and everyone has a different way to express themselves, right? A smile formed against her lips.

"Ve~, but music is an art!"

Ludwig looked at her, a bit shocked. He smiled down at her softly. She had made a valid point (surprisingly). "You're right. I guess it is." Feliciana felt her face heat up. At first she thought he was kind of weird, but seeing him smile like that made her insides melt. He was very attractive when he didn't have such an irritated look on his face.

Feliciana forced herself to look away from him, much to her dismay, and uncovered the canvas. She set it up on the easel and stepped over to the other side of the room to grab the paints and brushes. Ludwig peered over at the canvas and felt his eyes widen in surprise. It was beautiful. Soft, languid strokes went one way, harsh, violent strokes went another, and somehow, with the two combined it created a half-finished, but very beautiful, landscape with beautiful green trees and a bright cobblestone walkway. It looked so professional. Did she really paint it?

When Ludwig noticed her finish up and turn around, he quickly looked away, not wanting her to think of him as intrusive. She walked back, a very noticeable bounce in her step, and arranged the paints in the easel, searching through the brushes to find the perfect one. She grabbed a tiny one and dipped it into the green paint. The blond watched as she brought it up to the canvas and lightly flicked her wrist, adding soft touches of grass growing from the cracks of the walkway. It was very impressive. He never thought watching someone paint would be so…calming.

"Ludwig?" Feliciana asked not looking up from her canvas. The blond jumped a little and nervously peered over at her. Did she know he looked at her painting earlier?

"J-ja?" He stuttered, the German word rolling off his tongue. It was a bad habit when he was nervous.

"Will you play the piano while I paint? I really enjoyed listening to it earlier."

Ludwig's ears turned a soft pink colour and his palms got a little sweaty. He'd never played in front of anyone besides his teacher before. He cleared his throat and nodded, sitting on the bench, and set up his music. This time he turned to a song by Mozart, his teacher's favourite composer, and started playing, trying not to pay attention to the swaying brunette in the room.

He really wasn't sure how many songs he played, or how much time went by, but it was, honestly, one of the most enjoyable times he had in a while. Since he studied so hard, and focused on practicing most of the time, he never made many friends. He had his brother, his cousin (who was also his teacher), and a Japanese boy (who he really wasn't sure if he was his friend, or just an acquaintance. It was hard figuring that guy out).

"Ve~, I'm done!" Ludwig paused in his song to look over at the painting. Not much had added, but what had been added made the picture much happier. There were fluffy clouds and cheerful birds in the sky, some flowers in the garden off to the side, and grass gave more colour to the cobblestone.

"That's amazing, Feliciana," he commented, finding it very difficult to take his eyes off the painting. Such magnificence should be put up in a museum.

"I-it's nothing, really." Feliciana blushed at hearing him say her name. The way he said it gave her goose bumps and caused her heart to beat rapidly; she didn't really understand why.

"Where did you learn to paint like this?"

"Ve~, my Grandpa is a wonderful painter! He taught me when I was very little!" She grinned up at the blond, who peered down at her with his blue eyes. Oh, how she wished she could paint those gorgeous eyes.

"It looks like he taught you well." Ludwig's lips quirked up into a small smile that made Feliciana blush a soft pink colour.

"Ah, grazie, Ludwig!"

Just as Ludwig was about to respond, his phone started buzzing. He sighed and answered it, knowing very well who was on the other line.

"Yeah?" He asked, very irritated.

"Hey! Where are you? It's almost dinnertime, and the awesome me needs some dinner! Hurry home!" And with that he hung up, not giving Ludwig time to protest. The blond put the phone back into his pocket, sighing.

"I have to go, Feliciana."

Feliciana's smile shrunk, but didn't leave her face.

"Ah, yes, it's pretty late. My sister will be worried about me if I don't head home now. It was nice talking to you, though! I really enjoyed it."

"I enjoyed it, too. Maybe we could hang out some time soon?" He asked hopefully.

"Ve~, of course!" Feliciana giggled, the curl on her head bobbing up and down lightly. "I would love that!"

Ludwig smiled and grabbed his things. "Well, I'll see you later. Bye."

Feliciana waved him off, her smile disappearing when he had completely vanished from her sight. Sighing she hauled the easel over to the other side of the room, not worrying about the paints staining her T-shirt, and covered it. She took one last look at the piano, where Ludwig had been sitting, and turned off the light, making her way out of the room backpack in tow.

**Well, there you go! ^_^ I hope to update weekly, so be ready next week for Chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Comments: Thank you SO much for reviewing and favouriting and even adding this to your story alert! I'm having so much fun writing this! And you all are making it so much better! ^_^ I decided to upload chapter two early, since I was done. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really need one, really?  
**

The weekend went by quickly, neither one seeming to forget about the other. Feliciana constantly thought about the blond, piano-playing German, and Ludwig dreamt about the brunette, artistic Italian. In fact, the night they'd met, Feliciana went on and on about him at the dinner table, earning an irritated scowl from her sister and an excited smile from her Grandpa.

"My Feliciana is finally in love!" He shouted, gaining a tomato-coloured blush from Feliciana.

"We're just friends, Grandpa," she responded, a shy smile on her face as she fidgeted with the spaghetti on her fork.

"Watch out for him," Lovina growled, "those Germans are trouble! I'm sure that bastard's just trying to get into your pants!" She pouted and crossed her arms.

Feliciana didn't reply. She knew her sister was just being stubborn and anything the younger said would just piss off the older and cause her to shout more profanity. Instead Feliciana stayed quiet and tried to remember the soothing music played by the German boy that had, somehow, left a large impression on her.

On the other hand, Ludwig had yet to tell his brother at all about the beautiful girl he'd met in the music/art room. Knowing Gilbert, he'd probably ask what cup size the girl was or the width of her behind. Although, ever since his older brother had falling head-over-heels for that Canadian freshman, he hadn't seemed to care much for other girls. Ludwig was much too busy to chat anyway. Midterms were a week away and he aimed for a perfect score on all of them. Which meant that, right after school, he quickly made his way home, finished his homework (which there wasn't much of since everyone was studying for midterms, though the Math teacher seemed joyous to give them loads on top of studying. He hated Math), study until it was time to make dinner (since his "awesome" big brother was too "awesome" to do so himself), eat, then study until bedtime. Such had been his plan of action ever since he started high school. Some might think that he was going overboard, but if he wanted to get into one of those big schools he'd been dreaming of since he was a pre-teen, then studying until his brain burst was simply the least he could do.

The second he walked into homeroom on Monday he was greeted by a pair of dark brown eyes, and not the ones he had been dreaming about the past few nights. These looked furious and not at all happy to see him.

"Listen to me, Macho Potato," Lovina was her name, right? "If you touch my sister inappropriately or make her cry, I will lop off your head and kick it around like a Futbol! I will not stand for anyone hurting my sister or making sexual advances at her!" Not exactly what Ludwig anticipated the morning to be like at all.

"Your sister?" He asked dumbly. It was so obvious, even his brother could tell who she was referring to.

"Che palle, you know exactly who I'm talking about, Potato! I don't know what Feli sees in you at all. Honestly, you're all she ever talks about anymore! Gets on my fucking nerves," she cried exasperatedly. Ludwig's face grew warm. Did Feliciana really talk about him?

"Aww, Lovi, leave the poor guy alone," a boy with dark skin, emerald eyes, and dark brown hair said, hugging her from behind. Lovina's face grew bright red as she struggled against his arms. A grin played on the Spaniard's lips. "Don't worry about her, Ludwig. She's all bark and no bite."

"Dammit, you bastard! How dare you-, ah." Ludwig watched as the boy tugged at her curl, his grin widening at her tomato-red face.

"There we go. There's no need for all this yelling, Lovi."

"B-bastard, mmf, Antonio, s-stop." Antonio chuckled darkly and smirked up at Ludwig who watched as the Spaniard let go of the curl, only to get a face-full of Lovina's purse.

"Oof! Lovi, that wasn't very, OWW!" Before he could finish she stomped on his foot and walked off, grumbling to her seat. "Lovi, Lovi wait!" Ludwig shook his head as Antonio followed after her, apologizing and pleading. He could see how the Spaniard and his brother were such good friends.

The day ended quickly and Ludwig worked against the hustle and bustle of the impatient teenagers that wanted desperately to get home. As he made his way to his locker, a familiar face popped up amid the crowd. The large, chestnut eyes stared into his weary blue ones. A hand slowly peered up above the commotion and waved hesitantly. He waved back softly, seemingly glued to his spot in front of his locker. He wanted to go over and strike up a conversation with the Italian girl, maybe even ask her if she wanted to go get something to eat with him, but he couldn't. Studying was his first priority, and as much as he wanted desperately to re-prioritize, he couldn't miss a minute of getting ready for his midterms. And with that last thought he turned to his locker as she passed by. She was undeniably hurt and very confused. Had she done something wrong? No, it couldn't be that. They hadn't seen each other since Friday. Perhaps Lovina had said something to deter the boy away from her? She would have to check with Antonio later, since her sister would deny anything of the sort. Part of her hoped it was something she could straighten out and that Ludwig hadn't changed his mind about being her friend.

Feliciana made her way up to the second floor and to her locker, grabbing a few books and putting others back. Next to her the albino boy whose locker was directly above hers chatted away with the blond girl that she had most of her classes with, but whose name always seemed to escape her memory. The girl's face was bright red and a soft smile graced her lips as she conversed with the boy whose face held a brilliant grin, his eyes glistening with happiness. Feliciana couldn't help but eavesdrop, no matter how rude it was.

"So, maybe you and I could go out for some drinks or something? I know this great place that serves tea and coffee and stuff," he suggested, leaning seductively against the lockers.

"Oh, I-I couldn't. My brother is very protective over me. As much as I would love to go with you, h-he would have a problem with it," she replied, looking down at the ground sadly. Feliciana couldn't help but notice the albino's grin shrink.

"That's too bad. I had coupons and everything."

"I-I'm really sorry."

"Nah, it's really alright. Don't worry about it." He stretched and stepped closer to her, a small blush on his face. "See you later, Maddie." His lips connected softly with her cheek and with that he was off. Her face grew noticeably redder and she turned to watch him walk away, a content sigh escaping her lips.

Feliciana smiled sadly. Deep down inside she wished there was someone that thought of her that way. She tried desperately to be happy all the time, like nothing was wrong, but there was just some part of her that seemed to be missing. Feliciana had many friends, but most of them weren't very close. They didn't call her to hang out, they didn't volunteer to sit next to her at lunch, they were just there to gossip with. Then there was her sister. Lovina had few friends, but they all kept her company. Especially her best friend Antonio, who was always there for her. He was her shoulder to cry on when she was sad, her punching bag when she got angry, and her hand to hold when things got rough. Feliciana didn't have any of that. She was alone. But Ludwig, he gave her hope. Maybe they could be best friends someday, and who knew where that would lead them? Perhaps, one day, he would even give her that look of love that she longed for.

The days flew by one after the other and before they knew it, midterms had arrived. It was easy to tell the ones who studied from the ones that didn't. The ones that did looked calm and relaxed, maybe a little anxious here and there, but they were composed and ready for the most part. Those that didn't looked completely nervous, quickly cramming in as much information as possible before the bell rang. After the tests, the students got the rest of the day off so that they could study some more, although most of them just decided to hang out and cram the next morning. Ludwig, however, went straight home and took a nap. The night before he had stayed up way too late studying, trying his best to prepare for his test the next day, although he was very much over-prepared. Someone could ask him the fifth word on page seven and he would be able to answer them correctly. That didn't keep him from worrying, though. So he studied until two in the morning, slept until six, went to school and took his test, then slept until around five in the afternoon. This went on for the next few days, which didn't help his health at all. He was too nervous to eat breakfast and too sleepy to eat lunch, so he stuffed himself at dinner, which worried his brother who thanked God that there were only a few more days of it.

By Friday everyone was exhausted, especially the German who went home right after school to indulge in a long, long nap; although, fate had other plans for him.

At Feliciana's house, everything had been chaos. On Sunday both sisters had crammed for their tests on Monday, Monday evening they crammed for their tests on Tuesday, and so forth. Needless to say they were extremely grateful when Friday rolled around.

"Thank God that's over! I'm so fucking glad that we get three weeks off for Christmas break!" Lovina exclaimed, lying back on her couch.

"Si, so am I!" Antonio cried, grinning at his best friend. "How do you think you did on your tests?"

Lovina shrugged. "I dunno, I think I did pretty well. How about you, Feli?" Both turned their attention to the girl sitting at the table, eating some Tiramisu her Grandfather had made for them.

"I fink I did, too!" Feliciana answered after stuffing a forkful into her mouth. Before her sister could scold her for being so discourteous, Antonio's phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered happily.

_"Hey! Come hang out with the awesome me!"_ The voice on the other end shouted, causing Antonio to cringe.

"I can't, I'm hanging out with my other friends right now, Gil."

_"What? You have other friends?"_

Antonio chuckled. "Yes, I do. Can I call you back late-, oww, Lovi!"

"Hello, who is this?" Lovina asked, trying to keep the Spaniard away by stuffing her foot into his face.

_"This is the awesome Gilbert! Who are you?"_

"I'm Antonio's best friend, Lovina. So, if you want to hang out with him, you have to let me come along too."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. _"Fine, fine. I expect him to be here in 15 minutes."_ And with that he hung up. Lovina looked over at Antonio who was pouting on the other side of the couch.

"Come on, we're going." She got up and grabbed her purse.

"Can I come along?" Feliciana asked, jumping down from her perch on the chair.

"Lovi, are you sure about this?" Antonio asked, stepping up to her.

"Come on, Feli. Yes, you bastard, I'm sure about this. I don't want you to miss hanging out with your friends just because you're hanging out with me, so why not have both?" Lovina felt her face grow warm as she watched his mouth turn into an excited grin.

"Oh, Lovi, you're the best!" He threw his arms around her, squeezing her tightly.

"Ack! G-get off me, d-dammit!" Lovina pushed against his chest and strutted out the door, the other two following after her.

Gilbert peered into the kitchen, watching his brother close to dosing off while boiling water. "Hey, West!" He yelled, making the younger jump a few centimeters off the ground. Ludwig turned to glare at him, bags under his eyes. "Some people are coming over for a little bit! Just lettin' ya know!" Gilbert didn't elaborate any further and walked off to the living room, probably waiting for them to come knocking. Ludwig wasn't interested. Gilbert's friends always ended up being, for lack of a better word, douchebags. So he just shook his head and continued to make Wurst, ignoring the voices from the other room.

Feliciana looked at the house from the outside, gaping in surprise. It was huge! Just who lived here, anyway?

"Hey guys! What's up?" A voice yelled as the door swung open. It was the albino boy! "Come into my humble abode!" They all stepped inside, following him through the house. It was even bigger on the inside! She didn't even have the vocabulary to explain it all. That was when she remembered.

"Oh! I have to use the restroom!" Feliciana said, looking around for the bathroom.

"It's down the hall and to the left," Gilbert explained pointing to the white door near the end of the hallway.

"Thanks!" Feliciana ran to the room, shutting the door loudly.

Lovina shook her head. "Come find us when you're done!" Gilbert started up the stairs, the others behind him.

Ludwig sighed as he moved the bowl to the counter. Even making dinner was an ordeal for him today. He glanced at the sink that was filled to the top with dishes. He'd been very busy lately, so he didn't have the time to do them, much to his dismay. He groaned and made his way out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom to wash his hands. Unfortunately the bathroom was occupied. Ludwig turned to head up the stairs when the door abruptly opened. He spun around to see those beautiful brown eyes staring back into his blue ones. They grew wide in excitement and surprise.

"Ludwig!" Feliciana shouted happily. Ludwig's lips twisted into a smile. Well, what do you know, there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

**A/N: So, this chapter was a little bit of a 'blah blah blah' chapter, I guess. But it lays foundation for the next chapter! ^_^ I hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Note: Thank you all so much for reviewing and favouriting my story! You're all so amazing! I really appreciate all the feedback! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Hetalia. Dammit!  
**

Soft, chestnut eyes stared deeply into coarse, weary, blue ones. Ludwig opened his mouth to speak, but Feliciana beat him to it.

"Hi, Ludwig!" She shouted, grinning widely. Ludwig smiled a little at her greeting and waved in response.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"Oh! Well, Antonio, Lovi, and I were at my house and I was eating some really good Tiramisu and someone called Antonio on his phone and asked if he wanted to hang out and Lovi stole it and said that if they wanted to hang out with him that she wanted to come along and I asked if I could join them and then we ended up here and that albino boy whose locker is above mine answered the door and then I had to go to the bathroom and when I came out, you were there!" Feliciana panted slightly, her run-on paragraph causing her to run out of breath. Ludwig's eyebrows tilted upwards as her words sunk in, more surprised by her enthusiasm than by the story itself.

"Oh, wow, I see," he replied.

Feliciana's gaze dropped to the ground and her tone became hurt. "Ludwig?" The referred noticed the sudden change and felt the corners of his lips turn downward, more so than they had prior.

"What's the matter, Feliciana?" He asked, worried.

"Well, it's been a while since you talked to me and I got the feeling you were avoiding me." She looked up into his cerulean orbs, and at that moment, he felt his heart break. He watched as she wiped a tear from her cheek. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"Nein!" Ludwig exclaimed, making her jump. "I-I mean, no. I was busy studying for midterms and I knew that if I tried talking to you, I would get distracted."

Her eyes visibly brightened but the tears still threatened to break loose. "I'm so glad to hear that! I was so worried." She chuckled sadly and wiped more tears with the back of her hand. Ludwig really wasn't sure what to do. He'd never been in such a dilemma.

"H-hey, it's alright. Don't cry." He stepped closer and patted her awkwardly on the top of the head. "Come on, let's go sit down in the kitchen." She nodded in response and followed him to the dining table, sitting down at the head.

"What are you making?" She sniffled, watching him grab the bowl of wurst and place it into the microwave.

"Just some sausages. Would you like to try one?" Feliciana smiled and nodded, watching him make his way swiftly around the kitchen. She noticed the way his biceps flexed beneath his long sleeves and how quickly he moved on his feet.  
Ludwig grabbed the bowl back out of the microwave some seconds later and set it down on the table, taking one for himself. Feliciana took one as well and looked it over slowly, holding it under her nose to take in it's fragrance. Ludwig gave a small, amused chuckle as he watched. When she noticed his gaze upon her, she giggled softly and blushed a bright red. She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, letting the food saturate her taste-buds. Her eyes drifted up to meet his and she nodded, a pleased smile embracing her lips.

"It's yummy!" She explained, shoving the rest into her mouth.

"I'm glad." Ludwig's smile turned into a yawn and he stretched, standing from his chair. "Well, since Antonio is here, I guess I'll order some pizza."  
Feliciana looked up. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, Antonio likes to eat dinner with us when he's over, and he isn't a fan of wurst, so I always have to either make something drenched in tomatoes, or order something. And I'm much too tired to cook."

Feliciana frowned. "You do look worn out. Ve~, maybe I could make some pasta? I don't want you spending extra money on something when I'm here to help! And you can never go wrong with pasta! Who _doesn't_ love it?"

Ludwig blushed a tiny bit. "O-oh, you don't have to do that." His face grew warmer at her wide smile.

"But I insist!" She stood up and stepped over to him, pressing on his shoulders. When he was settled back in his seat, she gave a satisfied smile and walked up to the counter, looking around for some dry pasta and a pot to cook it in. It wasn't long until she had the water boiling and the spaghetti in halves, set carefully into the pot of hot liquid.

That was when he noticed a spot on the counter. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. Quietly, he made his way to the sink, grabbed the sponge, and started swiping at it, the grease-fighting liquid soap battling it out with the spill. When it was cleared he moved back over to his seat and watched her stir with a ladle she found in a drawer.

Once she was settled, she took the pasta sauce from the fridge, putting most of it into a bowl to heat up. Of course, with the right ingredients, she would have made her own sauce. But there was only one tomato, and that wasn't enough for even one bowl of pasta!

Again, there was a spot on the counter, no doubt from the tomato sauce. Ludwig slowly got up and walked over. He swiped again, but this time she noticed.

"What's that?" Great, he was caught.

"N-nothing." He tried to get out of the trouble he'd gotten himself into. No such luck.

"Give me the sponge." The German flinched and reluctantly handed it to her.

"Good, now go sit. You look positively worn out." Ludwig opened his mouth to retort, but the look on her face mad him decide otherwise. '_Arguing with women is useless; you never win_' his father always used to tell him. So he took the wise advise and walked back to his seat, only to watch helplessly as she made an even bigger mess.

It hadn't taken nearly as long as he thought it might for her to make the pasta. In only about ten minutes she had successfully boiled, sauced, and garnished it. Now she was cleaning up her mess, much to Ludwig's surprise, leaving the large bowl of pasta on the table. It looked like a work of art. She was obviously a professional.

"So, have you painted anything new lately?"

Feliciana's cheeks reddened. "I am working on something now, but it shouldn't be finished anytime soon."

"Oh." Ludwig wasn't sure what else to say. Feliciana sat back down in her seat with a thump. Cooking always exhausted the Italian.

"So, how do you think you did on midterms?" She asked, picking out a string of pasta and slurping it up. What? Her hands were clean!

"I did pretty well, I hope. I studied almost every second I had on them."

"It sure does look like it." She noted the bags underneath his eyes. "Trying to get into a big music school?"

Ludwig frowned, glancing over at the wall. "No, I want to be a history major. I'd like to be a college professor in the future. Music is just a hobby of mine."

Feliciana's eyes widened. "Ve~, I see! That's interesting!"

The blond looked over at her, surprised at her response. "You don't think it's a waste of my talent? Everyone else seems to think so."

"Ve~, well, it's true that you are a great pianist, but you should be whatever makes you happy! It doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks. If they love you, they'll want you to pursue your dreams!"

Ludwig felt his face grow warm (for what seemed like the millionth time that day) and his lips curve into a soft smile. Feliciana was one-of-a-kind, really.  
Even though he'd only known her for such a short time, he felt she was someone that wouldn't judge him the way everyone else had when he'd told them about his dreams and ambitions.

"What about you?"

"Oh! I want to be an artist!" She gave a cute giggle before going on and on about what college she had decided on and the things in her art she would like to improve. The subject quickly changed after that, although Ludwig didn't mind. He wasn't one to dominate the conversation anyway.

Somehow, thirty minutes had seemed like five, and their conversation was cut short when they heard footsteps coming down the staircase.

"Feliciana?" A voice shouted from around the corner.

"Si, sorella?" Feliciana replied, turning her head in the direction of the voice.

"Feli, what are you do-," Lovina stopped talking when she realized just who her sister was in the kitchen with. _Alone_.

"Dammit, you stupid macho potato! I swear, if you did anything to my sister!"

Feliciana stood and set a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Lovi, we were just talking, nothing happened."

"That's what they all say." Lovina looked down to the bowl of pasta, her frown disappearing slightly. "So, I guess you're going to beg me to stay here and eat dinner with you and the potatoes." She sighed, ignoring Antonio's cries that she forgot about him. "Whatever, it couldn't hurt too badly. But if either of you touch me, I will be forced to take desperate measures."

**Author Notes: I hope you all enjoyed it! Thank my awesome bestest buddy who uploaded this because my laptop is sick. I hope it made up for how slow the last chapter was! There's a lot of dialogue. O.o but I assure you, the next chapter will be better! With more of the fluffs! ^_^ oh, and the whole, 'never argue with a woman' thing; yeah, that's true. I've tried it, and it's a waste of breath. xD and did you notice that I put in a scene from the anime? Cookies if you can tell me what part it was! Actually, I'm planning to make some Stollen soon. O.o so, Stollen if you can tell me! xD Oh, another thing! FinlandxSweden! Yes? No? I'm not really sure how to incorporate them in. ^_^; but, I can try if you all want them! It's up to you! One more question, and I promise I'm done! Spamano! I've actually kind of accidentally hinted at it in previous chapters, but I might add more to it. What do you think? ^_^ well, that's all! Look for a new chapter next week!**

**EDIT: Thank you _XzNTinoXD _and _Kronos930_ for fixing my Italian grammar mistake! I know nothing of the language, so I really wasn't sure. ^_^  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, SwedenxFinland, and Spamano. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Comments: Here's Chapter 4! ^_^ enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Yada yada, don't own Hetalia. Yeah. x3**

"…they were huge, Ludwig! But mine were bigger…" Feliciana trailed off as she fiddled with her cell phone. Ludwig tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Ve~, and when I squeezed them, they were all round and firm!"

"Feliciana," Ludwig sighed, looking to the passenger's side of the car.

"Hey! Maybe you could feel them some time, Ludwig! Or I'll send you a picture!"

"Feliciana! We're here."

"Oh! Yay!" Feliciana jumped out of the car and quickly started off through the movie theatre parking lot. Ludwig gave a deep sigh and stepped out of the car, following after her. He, honestly, didn't think he could stand another story about Feliciana's prize-winning tomatoes. "Ludwig!" He turned his head just in time for his friend to snap a picture of him with her phone. She giggled and pressed a few more buttons, changing the background from the Italian flag to the picture she just captured. "There! Look!" She shoved her phone into his face, grinning widely. Ludwig just looked at it, blushing a tiny bit at how unattractive he found himself in the photo.

"Beautiful." He replied sarcastically.

"Ve~, maybe I could take a picture of myself and send it to your phone! So that I'm always there when you check the time!"

Ludwig's ears turned a dark red. "Ah, I don't have a cell phone."

Feliciana looked at him as if he'd just grown moose antlers. The German couldn't help but feel irritated at her look of incredulity. "You don't? Why not? What if you get into an accident? Or your car breaks down? Or you're shot by that scary Russian boy in your class that's probably still communist? Or-." Ludwig placed a hand over her mouth quickly.

"Feliciana, I'm a safe driver, I know how to fix my car and use a payphone just in case, and you really shouldn't stereotype people." Although, he was quiet perturbed by that boy named Ivan whose smile was never as innocent as it looked. Sighing deeply, he slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Unfortunately, she continued to flip out.

"Ve~, that's what they all say before they're out in the road in the middle of nowhere without a cell phone!"

Ludwig grumbled and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "I don't need one, Feliciana." Feliciana looked up at him, eyes filled with tears. Sighing, the German boy surrendered. He seemed to be doing that a lot around the Italian girl. She must have been rubbing off on him. "Fine, fine. I'll ask my dad for one next time I talk to him, okay?"

Feliciana started jumping up and down, any sign of her tears having disappeared. Ludwig was starting to get used to her constant mood swings, although they still surprised him a little when they happened. "Oh! I want to go with you when you get it! Can I, can I, please?" She begged.

"Feliciana, who else would go with me?"

"Ve~, that's a good point! We are kind of best friends!"

Ludwig nodded, his face a scarlet colour. "I guess."

"Yay! I've never had a best friend before!"

He turned his head to reply, but he was met with nothing. Great. When he finally spotted her, she was running off in a random direction, grasping at the air. Was she chasing a butterfly? A leaf? Whatever it was, Ludwig new he had to catch her before she was smooshed by a car. He really didn't feel like explaining to Lovina why her sister was a human pancake.

Right as he started to go after her she stopped, turned to him, and ran back, some unknown object in her hand. _'Oh dear, what do she have now?'_ Ludwig wondered, watching her excitedly half run, half skip over to where he stood. It was quite cute, actually. The way her hair danced in the breeze, the way she awkwardly stumbled over her long, slender legs, just to laugh it off. Even though she irritated him, it was moments like this that made up for all the times she got on his nerves.

"Ludwig! Ludwig! Look what I found!" Feliciana said, opening her hands a tiny bit. Ludwig peered into the darkness, trying to see what she was trying to show him.

"Feliciana, have you been hanging around that Arthur kid again? You know he leaves bad impressions on you."

Feliciana's smile faltered, but she regained it quickly. "No, Ludwig. It's a wish. They're those little white things that float around. If you catch one, you get to make a wish on it! Then you blow it away!"

Ludwig was just about to tell her how ridiculous it sounded, but thought otherwise. He didn't dare to upset his little Italian friend.

"Okay, then. What are you going to wish for?"

Feliciana smiled and closed her eyes, bringing her hands close to her chest. "Ve~, I wish Ludwig and I can be best friends forever!" She said, so softly Ludwig almost couldn't hear. His face turned red as her words sunk in. The Italian opened her hand and blew the little white fluff from her palm, watching it float off into the distance. When she looked at him, he couldn't help but see a slight hint of red tinting her cheeks. "Do you think it will come true?" Her eyes looked anxious, worried that he thought differently.

Ludwig, in an unfamiliar act of playfulness, tousled her hair, smiling warmly down at her. "There's no doubt in my mind that we'll be best friends forever, Feliciana." In all honestly, and as much as he denied it, he cherished his friendship with the Italian, no matter how much she annoyed him.

Feliciana's eyes brightened noticeably, and she tossed her arms around his neck, hugging him closely. "I'm so happy to hear that!" Ludwig blushed, for what seemed like the millionth time that day, and patted her awkwardly on the back. She quickly let go and twirled in a circle, grabbing his arm and starting off towards the theatre. "Ve~, we should see Eat, Pray, Love, Ludwig!"

The German grimaced. "No, Feliciana."

"But why not? It looks so good!"

"I'm not one of your girlfriends! Take your sister to see it!"

"Ve~, but she already saw it with Tonio! And I really wanted to see it with you!" Her eyes were pleading. No, don't give into them!

"Fine, fine! But next time, we see something I want to see. Understand?" Ludwig was such a sap for the Italian.

"Ve~, of course, Ludwig!"

Before they finally stepped inside, Ludwig took one last look out at the sky above. The clouds were a dark gray colour and the air was getting chillier. He, desperately, hoped it didn't snow while they were inside.

Ludwig was thankful when the movie ended. It was a good movie, but it just wasn't _his_ kind of movie. And, of course, little emotional Feliciana started crying at the end, causing Ludwig to awkwardly pat her arm, attempting to offer some kind of condolence. They hadn't been friends for long, but it was like he'd known her for years. Ever since that day in the music room, he wasn't able to get his mind off of her. And a few days ago when she had unexpectantly come over, they had shared so many things about themselves, which made him feel very close to the Italian. Of course, there were still things he had yet to know, but he would learn these things over time. As much as he hated to admit it, he never wanted those moments with her to end.

When they got outside, Ludwig groaned in annoyance. Of course! Of _course_ it would snow when he least wanted it to! _Dammit_!

"Ve~! It snowed! Ludwig, Ludwig, let's make snow angels!" Feliciana cried, tossing her empty bag of popcorn into the trash and running into the soft, pure white pillows of ice. Before he could stop her, she was rolling around, getting her clothes drenched. Great, now his car seats would get wet!

"Feliciana! Stop that! You're getting snow all over y-!" Just as Ludwig was about to finish his sentence, he was stopped when something cold hit his face. Wiping the snow out of his eyes, he spotted a very evil-looking Italian grinning at him from ear to ear. Oh, it was on now. Ludwig picked up a clump of snow and started balling it up, earning a shrill "eep!" from Feliciana. "No! Don't, Ludwig! Ahhhh!" She screamed, running over to a tree to hide behind. Ludwig chased after her, aiming at her shoulder. What? Just because she hit him in the face didn't mean he had to do the same to her. He was a gentleman, after all.

When it connected with her shoulder, she let out a "veeee~!" as she ran further down the parking lot and hid behind his car. Perfect, she was trapped. Ludwig slowly snuck up on the oblivious Italian, peering around at her from the back of his car. She looked worried and anxious. Well, she had the right to be! Ludwig was a master at snowball fights, what with Gilbert practically forcing him into the game every winter. Ludwig had to learn how to get around somehow since it was always three against one.

It was such a thrill to him, sneaking up on her like that. He was going to enjoy the look on her face when he scared her out of her skin. Ludwig quickly threw it and hid back around the corner, her scream giving him indication that he'd hit his target.

"Ve~! Ludwig, I give up! I surrender! See?" She pulled a random little white flag from her pocket and waved it around, biting her lip nervously. Wait, where the _hell_ did she _get_ that?

"How do I know you're not bluffing?"

"Ve~, you mean like lying? I-I would never lie to you, Ludwig. I promise!"

The blond sighed, stepping out from his hiding spot. It seemed the game was over. And he was actually having some fun, for once.

"Ludwig!" He heard before he felt himself falling backwards into the snow. "I was so scared! I thought maybe it was that creepy Russian guy trying to get me or something!" She hugged his midsection tighter, pushing him further into the snow.

"Fe-Feliciana, g-get off of me."

The Italian looked up at him, tears almost flowing over and down her cheeks. Ludwig sighed and pet her hair softly, looking down into those chestnut orbs he liked so much. "If you stop crying, I'll let you come over and have some hot chocolate before I take you home." He remembered Lovina's stern warning that she had to be back before dinner, or else. He really didn't want to know what _or else_ meant.

Feliciana's eyes widened and her lips curved into a smile. "Ve~, really? With lots and lots of fluffy marshmallows?"

Ludwig sighed and nodded down at her. "Yes, yes, with lots and lots of fluffy marshmallows."

"Yay!" Feliciana scooted up and laid a peck on his cheek. The German's eyes widened, shock causing him to lay stiff. Okay, he hadn't been expecting that. He was forced out of his thoughts when the weight lifted off of him and his friend's enthusiastic blabber drifted off to the other side of the car. Ludwig stood up and fumbled with the keys in his pocket, his heart beating at an abnormally fast pace. Oh, he was going to have to buy a book on Italians, and soon.

Car doors slammed and feet shuffled up towards the front door. Ludwig was only half paying attention to his friend's random chatter, the kiss on his cheek still lingering against his skin. He couldn't ignore the feeling.

"Woof!"

Feliciana's mouth stopped for a second. "L-Ludwig, what was that?"

"It sounded like a dog." Ludwig mentally went through all the dogs he had, but none of them sounded as puny as that. "It wasn't one of mine, that's for sure."

"Ruff! Ruff!"

"Oh my gosh, Ludwig! The snow is barking!"

Ludwig looked over to see two tiny black dots and a pink triangle hidden away in the snow. He stepped over to it and reached out, pulling a tiny dog out from beneath the white ice. "What are you doing out here? Did you lose your owners?" Ludwig was great with animals, especially dogs. The white ball of fluff gave a shrill bark and stuck its tongue out, panting away happily.

"Aww! Look at her! She's so cute!" Feliciana held out a hand, which the dog graciously licked.

"Hanatamago!" A soft voice yelled from the house next to Ludwig's. A boy with violet eyes and blond hair quickly ran over to them, another blond following after him. "I'm so sorry about that! She gets out a lot!"

Ludwig smiled, which Feliciana couldn't help but stare at. "That's quite alright." He ruffled the fur on top of Hanatamago's head and handed her back to her owner who gratefully took her.

"Thank you for finding her! She's such a bad dog sometimes."

"Ve~, she's so cute! Can I come play with her some day?" Feliciana asked, looking back and forth at the two.

The shorter boy looked up at the taller, slightly frightening one. "Of c'rse," said taller man replied, giving an icy stare to Feliciana who just giggled and patted the dog on the head.

"Yay! Oh! What are your names?"

"I'm so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Tino, and this is Berwald."

"Tino's m' w'fe," he commented, wrapping an arm around Tino's waist. The shorter blond giggled nervously as his face turned a deep shade of red.

"W-we should get going now! Come over any time you like, ah-."

"Ve~, I'm Feliciana!" The Italian animatedly held out her hand, which Tino shook happily.

"I'm Ludwig," the German nodded to the both of them, a soft smile on his face.

Tino giggled and held out the dog who gave them both one last lick on the cheeks. "It was very nice to meet you! Say bye, Hanatamago."

"Woof!" She replied, tail dancing joyously.

"Bye, Hanatamago! Bye, Tino! Bye, Berwald!" Feliciana yelled after them as they left.

Ludwig, having forgotten the kiss by now, unlocked the door and stepped into the nice, warm house, shutting the door behind Feliciana.

"Ve~, they were nice! That dog was so cute!"

Ludwig nodded. "She was."

They both walked to the kitchen where Ludwig made some hot chocolate, then scolded Feliciana for using up half the bag of marshmallows for her own cup. They sat at the table and talked for a while, about the wonderful day that they had and about the holidays coming up. He couldn't hold back the tiny smile that graced his lips, watching the Italian talk vivaciously as she sported a hot chocolate mustache.

**Author's Comments: Yay! I think this is one of my longest chapters. O.o which is kind of sad, because I was aiming for 3,000 words. xP buuuut, that's okay! Oh, and apparently, smooshed isn't a word. So, for those of you who don't know what it means, here you go: Smooshed: _v._ The act of being flattened. xD yeah, I have an odd sense of humor at 2 in the morning. O.o odd meaning I find it flippin hilarious, then the next day it isn't funny at all. xD heh.**

**Hahahaha, did any of you think Feli was talking about something _else_ at the beginning? Pervs. x3 teeheehee. (Apparently, I'm one too for writing it :3)**

**Can you see Feli trying to get Ludwig to go see Eat, Pray, Love with her? I haven't seen the movie myself, but I'm sure it's one of those girly movies. x3 I thank my Princess for choosing the movie for me. xD I was about to say Toy Story 3, but when she suggested Eat, Pray, Love, I was like, that's perfect! xD**

**I hope it wasn't too fast-paced! I get really worried about that. xP and I hope it wasn't boring, either. I know that my view of exciting is different for others. ^_^**

**Ugh, I get so jealous when I write about snow! xD I live in the South, so the weather pretty much suuuuuucks! It's 80 degrees in _winter_! Can you believe that? I have my A/C unit on! Someone send me money to fly to Canada, please! xD hehe.**

**I was told yes to Finland x Sweden, so I had to put them in here. I really didn't know how to incorporate them in, so it was kind of awkward.**

**And I, honestly, didn't mean any harm by calling Ivan the 'creepy Russian' or a Communist. He's one of my favourite characters, so I just found that it might be fun to poke a little fun at him, is all. ^_^ I'm not saying all Russians are Communist; it's like saying all Germans are Nazi! x3 so, I hope it didn't offend anyone, because I really don't mean to.**

**Oh! Yes! THANK YOU ALL for the reviews! I love them so much! ^_^ I read them when I'm sad, and they cheer me right up!**

**Well, that's it for now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look for Chapter 5 next week! ^_^ oh! And, have a great Thanksgiving for all of you that celebrate it! ^_^**

**Okay, I'm done blabbering now. ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author's Comments: Hey! Sorry this is so late. TT^TT okay, so, maybe it's only a few days late, but still! Enjoy, though!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia or 'The Pasta Song' from Sesame Street. x3**

Feliciana hummed as she stepped down the sidewalk, a round black and white ball safely tucked under her arm. "Ludwig, Ludwig," she chanted, strolling up to the front door of her best friend's house. "Ludwig!" She called, knocking loudly. The Italian waited for a moment, a bright grin on her face. After about a minute (which felt more like ten to someone so impatient), when that had failed, she found the doorbell, pushing it a few times, listening intently to try and hear it inside. Nothing. "Ve~, this sucks. I see Ludwig's car in the driveway. So he must be home!" She grabbed the handle and pressed the lever down with her thumb, hearing a click. The door was unlocked. Oh no! What if something happened to him? Perhaps a serial killer got in and hurt him! Or he was cleaning and inhaled some toxic fumes and was now lying unconscious in the kitchen? So many thoughts went through her mind as she debated on whether or not to trespass. It didn't take her long to decide on barging in, shutting the door behind herself, the Football long forgotten on the front step.

The first place she checked was the kitchen, where he might be unconscious due to toxic cleaner. Nope, not there. The living room? No. His bedroom? Nein. Bathroom? Non. Even Gilbert wasn't anywhere in sight! Tears filled her eyes as she made her way down to the end of the hall, checking every room, sobbing loudly. She paused at the very last room, staring at the closed door. She'd never actually seen this room before. It seemed kind of shady, cloaked in darkness at the end of the hallway.

She didn't have time to be scared! She had to make sure her best friend was all right. So she flung the door open, squinting at the light that rained down on her. Inside, there were tons and tons of bookshelves, books of all sizes lain neatly upon them.

"Back from your date already, Gi-?" A familiar voice started, but was interrupted by a loud cry.

"Ludwig!"

The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, a sobbing Italian on top of him. This seemed slightly familiar, although this time he wasn't drenched in snow.

"Fe-Feliciana? What the hell? Don't you knock? H-hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Is everything okay?"

Feliciana ignored the protests and questions, choosing to hold the blond tighter. She felt so safe with her arms around his nicely sculpted torso. "I thought," hic, "you were," sob, "dead o-or something," sniffle, "because the door was un-," sob, "unlocked and you didn't, "sniffle, "answer when I," hic, "knocked."

The body below her sighed, and she felt a hand gently pet her hair.

"You know, you could have called." Ludwig's face was on fire, forgetting his surroundings completely. It was easy to do when there was a beautiful Italian girl on top of you.

"Ve~, I didn't think about that." Feliciana reluctantly let go of him, sitting up and wiping her face. "I'm just glad you're okay, though."

The German was about to say something when there was a gruff throat clearing and the squeak of a chair. "Ah, Ludwig-san. I will go and let you two have some private time," a voice sounded behind them quietly, footsteps following it.

Feliciana jumped and turned her head, a short boy with a black bowl cut departing towards the door. The girl rose from her spot and looked at him, a look of shock on her face. Where did he come from? Ludwig stood up also, his face a bright red.

"Hold on, Kiku," he said, fixing his shirt. The boy turned around, setting his dark, almost black, eyes on the two.

"Ludwig, who is this? He's so cute!" Feliciana exclaimed, giggling, all previous worry having flown away.

"Ah, this is my friend, Kiku. Kiku, this is Feliciana."

Kiku's eyes visibly widened, a mischievous glint flashing in them. "So this is Feliciana. The one you have been telling me about?"

"Aww! You talk about me, Ludwig?"

"I-I was just telling him about when we went to the movies, is all," the German lied, trying to hide the blush brushing his cheeks. Luckily for him, she had clocked out of the conversation a few seconds ago and was now gazing around the room, enchanted by it. Books painted two adjacent walls and a great big grand piano sat in the very middle of the room, shining brightly under the lighting. In front of a large window was a deep chestnut desk that held a lamp and a few large books on the surface. On the other wall, a couch was set next to the door. It matched the light brown wooden floor, a soft-looking quilt slung across the back. Feliciana wondered why Ludwig never showed her this room before.

The boys watched her, enjoying the adorable look on her face. Ludwig mentally filed it in his photographic-memory album, smiling softly at the girl.

"Ve~, what a beautiful room!" Feliciana clapped her hands together, looking over at Ludwig.

"It is. My father made it for me after we moved. He couldn't believe how many books I had, and this is a great place to get away from Gilbert's loud music while I'm trying to do my homework."

Feliciana nodded and smiled, looking around the room again. Finally, her eyes settled on Kiku who turned his head away from her scrutiny. "Ve~!" She ran over and hugged him, earning a squeak of protest. Ludwig face-palmed, sighing irritably. "Kiku! Be my friend too! I love making new friends!"

"Feliciana, if you don't let him go, he'll pass out."

"Ve~, how come?" She let go of the stuttering Japanese boy who quickly excused himself. Feliciana shrugged and turned to Ludwig, a great big smile on her face. "He's kinda weird, but that's okay, because you're kinda weird too."

The German frowned. Was that an insult or a compliment? But before he could say anything she was gone. How did she always manage to do that to him? Ludwig glanced over his shoulder to see his friend admiring some of the books on the shelf. Most of them were history books, and those particular ones were about the Romans.

"Ve~, you like to read about the Romans? My Grandpa has Roman blood in him!"

Ludwig's eyes widened in amazement. "H-he does? Wow, that's amazing. I've always admired the Romans."

Feliciana giggled and made her way to another shelf. "Well, my Grandpa has been dying to meet you. You should come over one day. I'm sure he'll have many stories for you."

Ludwig nodded, blushing a little.

"Ve~, Ludwig, is there any book that you don't have?" She asked, softly skimming her fingers against the bindings.

"Actually, there is one that I've been looking for."

"Hmm?" Feliciana looked back at him curiously. "And what book is that?"

"Ah, well, it's called 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle. But it's never in any of the used bookstores I've looked for it."

"I see."

He watched as she glanced over a few other books, got bored, and pranced over to the couch by the door. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Ve~, oh! Right! I came to see if you wanted to play some Football with me! But then I freaked out because the door was unlocked."

"Damn Gilbert. He always manages to forget something. I can't get too mad at him though. I know he was nervous about his date today."

Feliciana tilted her head. "Date?"

"Yeah, with that Canadian girl he likes so much. I'm not sure how, seeing as her brother was so against it, but they somehow managed to get him to approve."

The Italian smiled. "Well, I'm glad. He seems to really like her! Ve~, I am jealous, though. She's so lucky to have someone that cares about her so much."

Ludwig wasn't sure what to say. He cared about her, right? N-not like that, of course! Well, maybe. Wait, what? They'd only known each other a few weeks! Could he really be falling for her so soon? Nonsense. He'd always scoffed at books like Romeo & Juliet for how fast they'd fallen in love. Things like that didn't happen in real life. It would take a lot more time for him to fall in love with her. However, that didn't mean he couldn't like her. A small crush couldn't hurt, right?

"VE!" The Italian cried, yanking him from his thoughts.

"Wh-what is it, Feliciana?"

She turned her focus from the back of the couch to his crimson-coloured face. "I-I dropped my phone behind the couch."

"Wa-, how did you manage to do that?" He scolded, making her flinch slightly.

"I wanted to see if it could fit between the couch and the wall and accidentally dropped it. Please don't be mad! I didn't mean to!"

Ludwig's eyebrow twitched. He wasn't sure how he came to like a girl like this.

* * *

"And when the rice has cooled, you get a bowl of water, dip your hands into it, and grab a handful of rice, cupping your hands to make it into a triangle shape. Like this," Kiku did as he had instructed, grabbing a tiny bit of dried seaweed and wrapping it around the bottom. "That's how you make onigiri."

"Oh!" Feliciana exclaimed. "That's pretty simple!"

Ludwig smiled as he watched his friend and best friend cook in his kitchen. Knowing Kiku, the boy would clean up his entire mess when they were done, so Ludwig didn't really mind that they were being a tad untidy.

"Ludwig! Ludwig! Taste!" Feliciana bounded over to him, a ball of rice in her hand.

"Ah, no thanks, Feliciana."

The Italian girl pouted, looking about ready to cry. "Ve~, but I made it just for you." Ludwig sighed and reached for it, only to have her pull it away. "No! Open your mouth!"

"F-Feliciana, I don't think that's appropria-."

"Please?" She begged.

"Fine, fine! Just, stop making that face." The look she was giving him was on the verge of breaking his heart.

Feliciana giggled and popped it into his open mouth, watching his expression as he chewed.

"It's great, Feliciana." He responded, looking up at her.

Her eyes twinkled. "Ve~, thankies, Ludwig!" She hugged him quickly and skipped back to her spot next to Kiku who smirked and held her phone out to her. The Italian tilted her head and was about to ask when she noticed he had changed her background to a picture of her feeding Ludwig rice. Her face grew a scarlet colour as her tummy filled with butterflies. "Wh-when did you take this?" She asked, her voice just loud enough for the Japanese boy to hear.

"Just a few seconds ago. I'm great with taking pictures," Kiku responded just as quietly.

Feliciana couldn't do anything but stare at the picture and wonder why her heart was fluttering so hard against the walls of her chest. Just as she was about to put her phone back into her pocket it started ringing, making her jump a few inches into the air.

_"Macaroni, rigatoni, pagliaioni, or stelline…"_ her phone sung, much to her embarrassment. She quickly answered, wondering if her face could get any redder.

"He-hello?" She said, setting a shaky hand against the counter to hold herself steady.

"Feliciana! Where the fuck are you? And do not tell me you're with the potato bastard!" Lovina screamed into the receiver.

"V-ve~, Lovi! I-I'm actually with the potato ba-, ah, I mean Ludwig and his friend, Kiku."

"So, you're in a house alone with two boys?" Uh-oh. Feliciana could tell her sister was fuming.

"B-but, Lovi! You and Antonio are alone all the time! That's not very fair!"

Her sister sputtered. "I, I am older than you! I want you home in twenty minutes or I'll," Lovina paused, trying to think up a suitable punishment, "shove all your pasta down the drain."

"V-VE! Please don't! I'll be home in ten!" Feliciana hung up and shoved her phone into her pocket, looking at Ludwig nervously. "I-I have to go home now! Lovi will get rid of my pasta if I'm not home in twenty minutes."

Ludwig stood up and set his book down on the table. "Alright, let me walk you to the door."

Feliciana nodded and hugged Kiku quickly, ignoring his paranoid stuttering, and waved at him as she and Ludwig made their way to the door. "I'm sorry for barging in like that. Next time I'll call."

The German smiled a tiny bit and patted her softly on the head. "It was quite alright." He was used to it anyway, seeing as Francis and Antonio were friends of his brother.

Feliciana giggled and opened the door, standing dead still as she looked outside at two figures, practically eating each other's faces off. She squeaked and stepped back, but couldn't tear her eyes away. Ludwig cleared his throat loudly and watched in amusement as the Canadian girl pulled away from his brother and pushed him slightly, sending him back into the snow.

"I-I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, blushing like crazy.

"Ugh, damn Maddie. You didn't have to push me," Gilbert said, standing up and glaring at his brother, enraged at him for ruining their little make-out session. Ludwig just smirked at the albino, satisfied with himself.

"Sorry," he said, but the word held no sentiment.

"Whatever." Gilbert turned to Maddie and kissed her on the cheek, telling her goodbye and watched as she walked away, a small smile on her face. When she was out of sight, he turned to Ludwig. "Not awesome, West." He frowned up at his brother and stepped inside, an obvious blush against his cheeks.

"Wow, that was unexpected," Feliciana said, laughing nervously. She turned to the blond and smiled. "Thank you for not kicking me out earlier."

"No problem, Feli," he replied, smiling softly.

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Ve~! You called me Feli!" She exclaimed and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Ludwig blushed and hugged back softly. It was then that he realized that there really wasn't anywhere else he would rather be. It seemed like forever, and yet not long enough when she decided to pull away. "I'll see you again some time! Let's hang out again soon, okay?" She said and kissed him on the cheek, grabbing her Football and quickly running down the sidewalk, desperate to get home to save her pasta.

Ludwig watched her, a large smile on his face. Kiku smiled too, shoving his camera back into his pocket and quickly walked back to the kitchen before he got caught.

**Author Notes, comment, thing. You know what? I don't think I'm going to say that anymore. xD just know that bold is where I ramble on about nothing.**

**So! This chapter! Kinda boring. I'm sorry! I had it all planned out, and when I went to write it, I blanked. So, I pretty much free-styled this chapter. But, I got a good amount of fluff, right? xD and Kiku!**

**The library held a much bigger part of the story when I first thought it up, but now it's only in one chapter. I need to start writing down my ideas, because I always end up forgetting them! xD**

**Speaking...typing...of ideas! After this story, I will be writing one in the same story, but different perspective! It will be about Prussia and Fem!Canada! x3 yay! Exciting! Heh.**

**Ah! I found a yellow beanie baby bird that looks like Gilbird! He's sitting on my head right now. xD his original name was Quackers, but I renamed him. x3**

**The Hound of the Baskervilles**** is SO my favourite book! If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it!**

**Feli dropping her phone behind the couch just because she was curious to see if it would fit is something I would do. Unfortunately. xD**

**A few things before I shut up. Ah, I have to change a few things in previous chapters. First of all, Maddie! At first I named her Mattie, because I really didn't think she would pop up again and didn't care to change her name. But now that I know she's a larger character, I had to think of a name. What do you think of Madison? ^_^  
And second! Earlier I said they have two weeks off for Christmas break, but I have to change it to three because two was too short of a time period for our favourite couple. So, I will be going back to change that. x3**

**Alright! So! Next chapter starts part one of the climax of this story! x3 thank you all for the reviews and such! You all are so awesome! And, not to be creepy, but I love you all! Honestly! It makes me feel so awesome that people are enjoying something that I write! ^_^ tata for now! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, Genderbent!Spamano, and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Comments: Hey! xD so, are you ready for the climax of the story? Fufufu~ x3**

**Disclaimer: *checks* nope! Still don't own Hetalia!**

Feliciana carefully draped the sheet over the easel and smiled happily. "Yay! I'm done! Oh, I do hope he likes it!" She giggled and plopped down on her bed, staring at the covered canvas. "I don't think I can wait until Christmas to give it to him! I'm so excited! His room is so dull. It really needs something like this to brighten it up!" The Italian lay back softly, closing her eyes. "I wonder if he'll smile when he sees it. Ve~, that would make me so happy!" Her smile turned into a frown and her chest felt tight. "Oh, but what if he doesn't like it?" That snapped her out of her daydream. Feliciana got up and begun to pace back and forth. "He doesn't seem like someone that would necessarily like paintings. Ve~, what if he keeps his room so boring for a reason?" She continued to ponder for a moment when she remembered that day at school. The look on his face when he'd seen her painting and the praise he'd given her made her heart leap and her face heat up. Feliciana stopped pacing. Every time he smiled she felt some kind of sensation she couldn't put her finger on. When their skin brushed she felt a slight tingling that made her dizzy. And she couldn't stop staring at that picture Kiku had taken with her phone.

Before she could contemplate any further, there was a loud knock on her door, almost causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor. "Who is it?" She asked without thinking. Who else would it be? Grandpa was at work and whenever Tonio knocked, he'd knock some kind of melody that Feliciana would have to guess in order to get the information out of him, although after their guessing game he'd forget why he was even there in the first place.

"Who else, dumbass? Your stupid boyfriend's on the phone. If you don't come get it soon I'm going to tell him to piss off," Lovina said impatiently. Feliciana felt a blush creep up her cheeks.

"He isn't my boyfriend, sorella." The younger opened the door and grabbed the phone, shutting the door before her sister could further insult the German on the other line. "Ludwig! Hi! How are you? Do you miss me?" She asked after pressing the phone to her ear, trying to ignore her sister's protests on the other side of the door.

"Feli, it's been two days since you came over," he replied, a bit embarrassed. Of course he missed her, although he would deny it to anyone if they asked, especially the Italian herself.

Feliciana's cheeks turned bright red at the nickname he'd just started calling her, and she was suddenly happy he couldn't see her on the other side of the line. "Ve~, but I missed you! Two days is a long time!"

The German hesitated. "Ah, yeah. So, uh, anyway. Are you doing anything today?" He mentally thanked God for her short attention span.

"Nope! Nothing! Why? Did you want to hang out?"

"Ah, yeah. I don't know why else I would be asking."

Feliciana pouted. "Ve~, Ludwig's so mean."

Ludwig chuckled. It was very rare for him to do so, but Feliciana had the privilege to hear it a time or two, which she was more than happy about. She could feel her insides turn to mush. "Alright, alright. Entschuldigung. Please forgive me."

Feliciana smiled brightly and blushed worse, if that was even possible. She would never admit it, but she found it rather attractive when he spoke German. "Ve~, of course, Ludwig. I can't stay mad at you!"

"Good. So, when can you come over?"

Feliciana hummed for a good ten seconds, creating a dramatic pause. "Right now! I can be on my way and there in about fifteen minutes!"

"Cool. And bring a canvas, some paints, and brushes. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Ve~, what is it?"

"I'd like a lesson. On painting."

Feliciana's eyes glistened. "I would love to teach you! I'll be there in a few!" And with that she hung up and grabbed her art supplies, so excited that she almost forgot her jacket.

Lovina hadn't been very excited about her leaving for that "stupid potato bastard's" house, but after a few minutes of coaxing, her sister told her to be home by dinner and let her go off on her merry way.

Feliciana bounced up and down as she made her way down the sidewalk, through the small town she called home. The Holiday hustle and bustle always excited the Italian girl and the thought of Christmas being just around the corner made her very excited. It was such a magical time of year.

As she strolled, she noticed many couples, some drinking hot coffee and huddling up together to keep warm, others walking along holding hands, and some just window shopping together. The Italian girl couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous. Not that it was anything new, really.

The more she pondered on the situation, the more she imagined herself strolling along, her hand captured tightly in someone else's. All previous musings ended with Feliciana imagining herself with just an unknown individual, but this specific time the being had a handsome face, gentle yet strict blue eyes, and soft blond hair slicked back in a stern fashion.

Feliciana stopped in her tracks. No. Not him. There was no way she could like her best friend. It would be her fault if he found out about her feelings and never wanted to see her again. And she couldn't lose the one good friend she'd had in a long time. Ludwig was everything to her, and she didn't want to lose him, no matter how much her heart told her to go for it.

She pushed that thought to the back of her mind and looked around at her surroundings when something caught her eye. Across the street was a used bookstore with fabulous lights and a beautiful Christmas tree illuminated inside. It tugged at her to come in, and she'd always been taught to follow her instincts. So, she carefully made her way across the street and into the shop. The bell chimed as she opened the door and an elderly man stepped out from the back.

"Good morning, young lady," he said, smiling sweetly. Feliciana couldn't help but think he was adorable. There was another boy with long, brown hair who was shelving books quietly in the back. He looked up at her and gave her a small smile before going back to his job.

"Good morning!" She replied enthusiastically, grinning down at him. He patted her on the shoulder and made his way to the register, sitting on a stool behind it.

"Let me know if you need any help, Dearie."

"Okay! Thank you!" She giggled and set her things down by the door. No one would bother a canvas and some paints. After a minute or two in the mystery section, the Italian girl peered around at the elderly man. "Where are your books by Arthur Conan Doilie?"

The man laughed loudly as he stood from his perch. "You mean Arthur Conan Doyle?"

Feliciana's ears turned pink. "Ah, yes. Whoopsies!"

"It's fine, dear. Names slip my mind all the time. Now, he should be…ahah! Here. A Study in Scarlet is where his books begin. Are you looking for a specific title?"

"Yes. Um, it's called The Hound of the Baskervilles, I believe."

The man searched, a frown creasing his brow. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we have it."

Feliciana frowned and looked at the floor. "Oh, oh well. It was worth a try, I guess."

As she started to leave, however, the man set a hand on her shoulder. "Hang on a moment. Let me check in the back. Toris, come help me."

He stepped out into a different room in the back of the shop, the brunette boy following after him, leaving Feliciana amongst the shelves and shelves of books filled with unopened adventures. She'd been looking through some for a few minutes when the door opened and the man approached her with something in his hand.

"You're very lucky that I remembered seeing this when I was organizing earlier," he told her, his lips turning into a gentle smile.

Feliciana felt like she was on the verge of crying or screaming in jubilee. Luckily, she didn't do either. She hugged the old man lightly, afraid she might break him. He chuckled softly and patted her kindly on the back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! He'll be so happy!"

"Oh, you're getting it for your boyfriend, hm?" There was a mischievous glint in his eye.

The Italian pulled away and looked at the floor shyly, suddenly feeling her face get a bit warmer. "H-he isn't my boyfriend, actually. We're just best friends, is all. I think I might like him, b-but I'm afraid he doesn't like me." She looked at him, a sad smile pulling at her lips. "Ve~, but that's okay. Because I'd rather have him as a friend then nothing at all."

The old man chuckled and handed her the book. "It's on me. Don't worry about paying."

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that!"

"Don't worry about it. Consider it a Christmas present."

Feliciana didn't know what to say. No one had ever been so kind to her before. After a few seconds of complete shock, she smiled at him and took the book. "Thank you. Are you sure you want to give it to me for free? I feel kind of bad."

He shook his head. "I've never met a teenage girl quite like you before. Girls these days are so into themselves and getting what they want, but very few are like you, content with what they have. I wish you the best with this boy that you like. And let me know how he likes the book if you ever come back in here."

"There's no use arguing with him. He's one stubborn old man," the brown-haired boy named Toris retorted from the back of the room, causing the old man to huff while he jutted out his bottom lip in a pout.

She giggled and picked up her things. "Thank you again. I have to get going now, he'll be worried about me. I'll be back some day!" Holding the book close to her chest, she stepped out of the store and back down the sidewalk. "Such a nice bookstore," she told herself. Feliciana contemplated on whether or not to wait until Christmas to give the book to him, but she decided there was no way she could wait.

Meanwhile, Ludwig was pacing in the living room. Feliciana told him she would be there in fifteen minutes, and it had already been half an hour. What if she got jumped on her way? Or she tripped and fell and hit her head? Wait, why was he getting so worked up over this? She probably went to get some coffee (you know how Italians like their coffee), or maybe she was trying to reason with her sister. Yeah, that was probably what was going on. So he sat on the couch and waited. He wasn't worried. Of course not! He would just sit here and wait patiently until she-

_Knock knock._ "Ludwig! Open up! I have a present for you!" He jumped from his seat and stumbled to the door, flinging it open. Nope, not worried one bit. "Ve~, Ludwig. You look all flustered. What's wrong?"

"No! No, everything's fine. I, uh, just had to run down the stairs, is all. They're kind of steep," he lied.

"Oh! Okay! Ludwig, Ludwig! Close your eyes and hold out your hands!"

"No, why would I do that?"

"Ve~, Ludwig. Please?" Oh no, not _that_ face. _Anything_ but that face.

"Fine," he grumbled, closing his eyes and holding out his hands. He heard her giggle and set something light and rectangular down in his palms. What could it be? "Feliciana, Christmas isn't for another few weeks."

"I know, but this couldn't wait." She blushed and mentally prepared herself before softly whispering, "Open your eyes."

He slowly did as he was told and stared at the paperback cover. It took him a moment to process what she had given him. "Feliciana," he whispered in awe, "why-, how-, you didn't have to." He finally tore his eyes from the book and gazed at the blushing girl in front of him.

"I know, but I wanted to. D-do you like it?"

Ludwig smiled and hugged her tightly. "I love it, Feliciana."

The Italian girl sunk into the embrace and hugged him back, both of them hoping the hug would never end. Unfortunately, there are some people that just can't read the atmosphere.

"Kesesesese!" A voice cackled behind them, a bright flickering light signaling a camera flash. "Aww, look at you two! So cute!"

Ludwig quickly let go of Feliciana and glared back at his brother. Damn Gilbert ruining the moment. "Gil! Out! Now!"

"This picture is definitely going up on my Facebook!" Before Ludwig had the chance to get to his brother, the albino boy was up the stairs and in his room.

Feliciana giggled. "It's a little cold out here. I'd like to come in where it's warm," she said solemnly, and Ludwig couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. Perhaps it had been the hug. No, she hugged him all the time. He tried to shake the feeling and stepped out of her way, allowing her passage inside.

"Ve~, you have an easel, Ludwig?" She asked as she watched him haul it onto the pavement in the back yard.

"Well, I went through a painting phase when I was little and my dad never got rid of it." He gently set it down for her to set up her space. "I only have one, so I guess we could share."

"No problem! I have it all figured out!" He watched as she set up her station and tied the apron around her midsection. "Okay! You stand in front and I'll guide from the back, okay?"

He nodded and took his place in front of the canvas, staring it down. It'd been a while since he'd done this, and he didn't really want to embarrass himself in front of the Italian girl. "Ah, okay. Now what?"

Feliciana giggled and held out a brush for him, which he gladly took. It still had some wet paint on it from when she'd been using it earlier, but it's not like his hands wouldn't get paint on them anyway. She stood right behind him, her body up against his back, and set her hand on his. "Now, you just dip the paint brush into one of these paints and move the brush up and down in soft movements." Of course, what she'd just said came out like gibberish to him. He could feel every curve of her body on his back, her warmth radiating into his. When she spoke, her warm breath hit his neck softly, making chills go up his spine. Her voice wasn't helping at all either. "Ludwig? Did you hear me?"

"Ah, um, sorry. I spaced out for a minute. Will you say that again?"

Feliciana giggled cutely. "Ve~, Ludwig has been hanging around me too long. He is starting to act like me now!"

Ludwig tried to hold back a smile. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you were saying?"

"Right!" She dipped the paintbrush into the blue and guided his hand towards the canvas. "You move the brush up and down evenly, coating the canvas with a smooth layer of paint."

The German let her direct him, just enjoying her warmth. Being so close to her made him…happy. He'd never felt this way before, as cliché as it sounded.

She let go of his hand, much to his dismay, and watched as he slowly moved the brush up and down just as she'd told him to do.

"Very good! Just keep doing that!" She exclaimed, itching her nose. When she saw Ludwig stop, she tilted her head. "What is it?"

"You have some paint on your face."

"Oh!" She wiped her face with her clean hand. "Did I get it?" When he shook his head, she tried again. Sighing, Ludwig set the brush down and wiped his hands on his T-shirt.

"Let me get it for you." He turned to her and gently ran his thumb against her cheek.

She leaned into the touch, gazing up into his beautiful cerulean orbs. He stared back down into her chestnut ones, not moving his hand from its spot. Her face was so warm, and not just because his hand was upon her cheek. She watched as he leaned down and drew closer to her, his eyes glancing down to her lips before moving back up to stare into her eyes. Then, it clicked. He was going to kiss her. Feliciana's body stiffened as she watched him draw nearer. Just as he was about to make contact with her mouth, she let out a whispered, "I can't." Tears suddenly rolled out of her eyes as she pulled out of his grasp. It was too frightening. Everything was happening so fast. She couldn't do this. She was scared.

Feliciana stood there, wondering what to do. What could she do? He was looking at her, hurt evident in his eyes. So, she did the one thing she did best. She ran. Through the house, out the front door, not looking back to see if he was following her. Through the snow she stumbled, trying her hardest not to fall on her face. Tears dropped, being taken by the wind, falling to the icy sidewalk behind her. The air was chilly, but she didn't care. She had to get home, and fast. Before he could think of chasing after her.

Ludwig stood there a moment, trying to comprehend what was going on. Did he just get rejected? It was obvious now that she didn't have the same feelings for him that he had for her. He felt so stupid! What had gotten into him? Had he really just tried to kiss her?

The German watched after his best friend, shocked and utterly confused. What was he supposed to do? Go after her? He knew she would probably be long gone by now. So he just stayed put, in the cold, wondering what to do.

* * *

A week had gone by. Ludwig hadn't heard from Feliciana since the day she'd rejected him. Of course he called on a regular basis, to see if he could reach her, but the line would either go to voicemail or Lovina would pick it up. Either way, she wouldn't get the message.

The German had also gotten a cold, no doubt from staring after her when she'd run off. He tried not to remember that day and the hurt that came with it. No matter how annoying she seemed to him, he missed her a ton. He wanted to fix everything, to go back to normal, but he couldn't see how that would happen. Even if he did get a hold of her, what would he say? What would he do?

Ludwig looked at the calendar. **December 23** it read. Would he even get to see her on Christmas? He had a present waiting that he'd been working on for a little while now, and he wanted to give it to her. Groaning, he turned his attention back to the television, watching the meteorologist go on and on about the blizzard that was just above the town he lived in. It wasn't a shock to him, though. He knew there was a blizzard just above their heads. He'd had to listen to Gilbert go on and on about being snowed in and not being able to go see his precious Maddie. As much as he'd like to, he wouldn't bring up his recent girl problem. Knowing his brother, he'd either laugh at him or give him some ridiculous advice about getting into her pants. And neither one he really cared for at the moment.

As he laid there, attempting to fall asleep, his phone went off. He grumbled and picked it up, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?" He asked, sniffing from his runny nose.

"Where. Is. My. Sister?"

* * *

**Teehee. x3 this was fun! Cliffhanger at the end! Yay! xD poor, poor Ludwig. x3**

**Yay! This is my longest chapter! I'm so excited to write the next chapter! It might be up a little early since I'll probably end up starting it in a few days.**

**Oh! Translation! Entschuldigung means 'I'm sorry'. Please correct me if I'm wrong. ^_^ I'm still learning German (after 2 1/2 years) xD I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**I realized I rated this T partly because France was going to be in it, but he hasn't even made an appearance yet! xD I'll probably put him in Chapter 8, though. x3 just for fun.**

**Thank you all for reviewing! And look forward to the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, Genderbent!Spamano, and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Comments: Ready for some fluuuuuuuuf? xD I feel like such a sap. It's kinda...cheesy. x3 but I seem to be good at writing stories like that.**

**Disclaimer: Hetalia is, definitely, not owned by me.**

**

* * *

**

"Uh, h-huh?" Ludwig asked dumbly, quickly sitting up on the couch. He could feel the cold air on his exposed upper half, but paid it no mind.

"My sister, dammit! She left this morning and I haven't seen her since! I thought she might be at your house!" Lovina answered exasperatedly. "And now there's a blizzard and I don't know where she is and I was hoping you would know! What if something happened to her?" From that point on she rambled on in Italian, which the German boy didn't understand a lick of.

"Lovina, chill out. Talk slower. And please speak in a language I can understand."

Lovina took a deep breath before summing up what she'd previously been saying. "I don't know where Feliciana is and she left her phone at home. Do you know where she might be?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. I haven't spoken to her in a week. But I can help look for her." Ludwig jumped up from the couch, putting on a shirt and donning his jacket, trying his best not to flip out himself. His heart was racing and his thoughts were going a mile a minute.

"Okay, Antonio and I are going to look too. Let me know if you find her." And she hung up.

Ludwig didn't have time to panic. He slipped on his shoes, opening the window to see how high the snow was. Well, this was a pleasant surprise. The snow was only piled a few inches above the ground. Leave it to his brother to exaggerate. The German zipped up his jacket and made his way out the door, not paying attention to his current lack of style or the savage wind that attempted, yet failed, to knock down his frail body.

Lovina pulled Antonio out of the house, looking either way down the sidewalk. "Okay, I go that way, you go the other way," she said hastily, tears brimming in her eyes. The wind was loud and harsh, and the cold stung her face, her vision growing blearier by the second.

"Lovi, Lovi, settle down. She'll be okay," Antonio yelled over the sound of the wind, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.

"But Antonio, she could be under a pile of snow or something! I need to make sure she's okay! She's my sister!"

Antonio softly placed his hands on her cheeks, staring down into her eyes, ignoring the insistent push of snow against his body. Lovina bit her bottom lip, staring back into his passionate emerald spheres. In any other predicament she would have punched him in the gut. But she needed him right now: his touch, his words, his love. Yes, he loved her, didn't he? And she loved him too. "Freaking out is not going to get you anywhere. Everything will be fine. We'll find her."

Lovina sobbed quietly and hugged him closely, pressing her face into his sculpted chest. Although she was feeling vulnerable now, she would deny any sort of behaviour like this in the future. "I'm so scared."

The Spaniard held her back at arm's length and smiled gently at her. "I promise, everything is going to be okay."

She nodded and wiped her face, turning back to start off down the sidewalk. Just as she was about to head off, Antonio swiftly whipped her around and kissed her softly on the lips, pulling away before she had any chance to respond. "Be careful." And with that he was off.

Lovina stood there for a few moments, staring as her best friend disappeared into the haze, trying to collect her thoughts. Quickly shaking her head she started towards town the opposite way. She could think about the kiss later. Right now she had to make sure her sister was safe.

Ludwig meandered past shops and people, down the road of the city. He tried to ignore the blaring Christmas music and the murmur of people around him as he searched every part of the street. After about fifteen minutes he leaned against one of the walls of the stores, closing his eyes, attempting to rid of his headache. Of all the times for her to get lost it had to be when he was sick. Typical Feliciana.

Wait, what was he doing? He had to continue searching! There was no way he could give up right now! Just as he was about to push off the wall, he noticed a girl across the street with long, brown hair tied back into a ponytail. "Feliciana!" He yelled, running down hurriedly to where she stood, trying his best not to get run over. As he approached her, she turned around. That was not Feliciana. "Oh, um, sorry. You looked like someone I knew."

The girl just smiled awkwardly before quickly making her way down the sidewalk away from him. Boy, did he feel embarrassed. But this was no time to just stand there uncomfortably. He had to keep moving. Ludwig made his way down the sidewalk, peering into every shopping centre he could find. A clothing shop, an Ikea (with his scary-looking neighbor at the cash register by the window), a café, a bookstore, a-, wait. When the German looked inside, he spotted a brunette shelving books. He quickly made his way through the door and casually scanned the shelves, peering over just enough to check said person out from the corner of his eye. The person looked over and Ludwig faltered. This individual was not Feliciana either. They had soft green eyes and their hair was not nearly long enough. This person was also male, which Feliciana was clearly not.

"Welcome to-, L-Ludwig?" The voice behind him went from incredibly peppy to stunned in a snap.

The referred spun around, his blue eyes meeting with chestnut. "Feliciana!" He said, a little too loudly. The boy shelving books flinched and nervously made his way into another isle.

"Ludwig, what are you doing here?" Her voice was uneasy, and she looked quite surprised.

"Your sister called and told me that she couldn't get a hold of you. We were really worried."

"O-oh! Oh, gosh. I forgot to tell her! I-I didn't know I'd be here this long. V-ve~, did she sound mad? I should-…Ludwig? Are you all right? You look a little woozy."

The German sat down on the floor, clutching his head. Now that he'd found the girl, he could rest a little. "I'm just feeling a little sick. You should call your sister. She's really worried about you."

Feliciana nodded and made her way to the back, grabbing the phone and dialing a number.

Ludwig didn't pay much attention. His head continued to pulsate, making him wish he'd stayed on the couch. Although this way he could talk to Feliciana face-to-face and find out what he'd done wrong.

"Ludwig?" He looked up, meeting her gaze. She sat down in front of him, staring down at her lap nervously. "I'm sorry. A-about last week."

"No, it's alright. I shouldn't have tried that." Ludwig chuckled sadly, looking at her. "I should have known you didn't like me the way that I like you." He visibly blushed and looked away, not noticing the surprised look on her face. This was so not his area of expertise. He felt so awkward confessing his feelings to her. Gosh, what was this Italian girl doing to him?

"You…you like me, Ludwig?" She cocked her head cutely, scooting closer to him.

"Ja, why do you think I tried to k-kiss you?" He looked at her, his cheeks turning brighter by the second. Ludwig concluded that his masculinity must have checked out days ago, since it was nowhere to be found at the moment. He felt like such a schoolgirl, his heart fluttering faster as Feliciana neared him.

The Italian girl giggled softly, smiling brightly at him. Oh, how he missed that smile. "Ve~, I guess it didn't occur to me. I was so scared that I couldn't think. I mean, of course I realized that you were going to kiss me, b-but I didn't know it was because you liked me!" Ludwig mentally face-palmed. "It's just that…it would have been my first kiss with someone I liked. Sure, I've had a few boyfriends, but they were all so gross and I never wanted to kiss them. Ve~, but I have kissed people before! They were family, though. Like Lovi and Grandpa and Tonio and Francis and stuff, but I've never liked any of them like I like you. And, and things were going so fast that day; it frightened me." At this she blushed brilliantly and looked down at her lap, nibbling at her lip.

"Feliciana," Ludwig started, setting his hand on top of hers, "why didn't you tell me?"

"We're such good friends. I didn't want to ruin anything by telling you that I liked you when you didn't like me. I couldn't mess up what we have. You're the closest friend I've ever had. Sure, I have a few friends like my sister and Tonio and Francis and Feliks and stuff, but you're my best friend." She turned her hand around and wrapped her fingers around his, biting her bottom lip. "Last week just scared me. And when I get scared, I run. It's just natural instinct for me. Once I noticed that I was running I couldn't stop. I couldn't go back and face you. You looked so hurt." Feliciana reached up with her free hand and stroked his cheek, pulling back quickly. "Oh, gosh, you're burning up!"

"I-it's just a cold. Nothing I can't handle."

"This is all my fault. If I didn't come over last week then this wouldn't of happened and everything would be okay." Feliciana placed her hands on her face, sobbing loudly, tears racing down her cheeks.

Ludwig, honestly, didn't know what to do. "N-nein, no, Feli. Don't blame yourself. Look at me." She shook her head. "Feli. Please. I need you to look at me right now." The Italian girl spread her fingers and looked through the spaces, blinking her red eyes. "I want to be with you Feliciana, whether it's as just friends or something more. And I won't force you into anything until you're ready. I just want to make sure you're happy, because you're the prettiest when you're smiling." Yup, he was sure he'd left his balls back at home.

Feliciana's face turned a bright red, and she couldn't hold back her jubilation. She bounded forward and tackled him to the floor, laughing loudly. "I want to be with you too." She looked down at him. "I'm always the happiest around you."

He watched as her face neared his, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Ah, F-Feliciana, I'm sick."

"I don't care." He could feel her hot breath as she inched closer, closing his eyes before…

"HEY! What the hell do you think you're doing? Having sex in a store is _not_ appropriate, Feliciana!"

Groaning, Feliciana turned to the voice, sitting up next to the German who was staring over at Lovina from the ground. "Sorella, we were just going to kiss."

"Wha-, yo-," the older Italian sputtered, glaring over at Ludwig. "Oh, you are SO going to get it!"

Ludwig jumped up quickly, stepping away from the fuming Italian. He had to admit, Lovina was fucking _scary_ when she was mad.

Before she could move any closer, she was stopped by a squeal. All of them jumped and turned to stare at Feliciana, who was hoping up and down in excitement. "Lovi! Lovi! Are you and Tonio going out? You're holding hands! That's so cute!" She cried, her curl bobbing with her movement.

Lovina's face turned bright red as she snatched her hand out of the Spaniard's grasp. "Sh-shut up, dammit!"

"You're not denying it~! Lovi and Tonio sitting in a tr-EEK!"

The older of the two quickly grabbed her sister by the collar, staring angrily into her eyes. "You sing that again, and I _will_ get rid of any and _all_ pasta in the house. Do I make myself clear?" She growled.

"I'm so sorry, Lovi~!" Feliciana started crying, stumbling back when Lovina released her. "Please don't get rid of my pasta!"

The elder let out something that sounded like _tsk_, and made her way back over to Antonio, her face the colour of a…oh, you know.

"Ah, it seems we have more customers. People you know, Feliciana?" The creak of floorboards sounded as the old man stepped around a bookshelf, smiling up at the teenagers huddled in the aisle.

"Oh! That's right!" Feliciana exclaimed, wiping her eyes. "Mr. Gai, this is my sister Lovina." She turned to her sibling, who smiled slightly. The younger turned to Antonio, who grinned and looked over at the old man.

"I'm Feliciana's sister's boyfriend!" He yelled loudly, earning a look of horror from Lovina.

"Sh-sh-shut up! I wasn't r-ready to tell them y-yet, you stupid idiot," she replied, whispering harshly, trying her best not to curse in front of the elder man.

"Aww, but Lovi~, I'm sure they already know by now~."

Feliciana turned away from the two, talking over their lover's spat. "And this is L-Ludwig," she said, blushing wildly.

"Ah, I see. So this is the young man you were telling me about. My, my, I think he's even more handsome than you told me," the old man said, looking him over. The heat of Ludwig's blush rivaled his fever, his face turning just about the same shade Feliciana's was simultaneously. Gai smirked at her before whispering into her ear, "you can take him to the back, if you would like some alone time."

Feliciana gulped and nodded, taking Ludwig's hand and walking towards the back of the shop, shuddering at the touch of his gloved-hands. They stepped into a room stacked to the ceiling with books of all kinds, smelling of musty paper and leather. She shut the door quietly, letting go of his hand as she turned to face him.

"I'm sorry about my sorella. She's very good about coming in at the wrong times," Feliciana commented shyly, looking down at the floor as if her boots were the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. Ludwig smiled softly, placing a hand on his mouth as he coughed lightly. The Italian looked back up at him, her brows knitted. "You need to sit. I feel bad enough that I got you sick _and_ made you come look for me in a blizza-," she stopped talking when she felt a warm pair of hands against her cheeks.

"Feliciana, this isn't your fault." His eyes met hers, as if telling her sincerely that he didn't blame her. A small smile graced her mouth, and he could feel their lips moving to connect, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Just as he closed his eyes, the door hit him in the back.

"Oh! I didn't know anyone was in here," Toris said quietly before scrutinizing the situation. "Oh my gosh! I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't a-aware that you t-two were doing anything in h-here. I'll l-leave you alone now." He stuttered, setting down the books and stumbling out of the room.

Feliciana laughed loudly, staring up at Ludwig's irritated expression. "Mein Gott, can't people just leave us alone?"

"Maybe we're just not supposed to kiss," she said playfully, pulling away from him and walking to a mountain of books, grabbing one from the top to look at. Ludwig stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Are you teasing me, Feliciana?" He let the name roll off his tongue, sending shivers down her spine.

'_Wow_' she thought, '_he's quite touchy-feely when he's sick_._ I could get used to this_.' "N-no. I'm just reading." For someone as dense as her, she was quite the tease. Ludwig figured it was an Italian thing.

"I see." He could play this game too. "I hope you don't mind if I read over your shoulder then."

"Not at all!" She looked up at him, an almost playful grin on her face, before going back to pay attention to the book she was holding.

Ludwig stood up a little straighter to set his chin on top of her head. He peered over to the side of her head, at her curl. Recalling that day Lovina had first threatened him and Antonio had shut her up by tugging at that specific strand of hair, he ran his nose against it, earning him a sound he really didn't imagine he'd hear.

"A-ah, Ludwig. Don't, mmf, touch that, please."

_Now_ he was having fun. "Why not? You sound like you're enjoying it." He let go and spun her around, softly taking the book from her hands. She stared up into his face, her cheeks noticeably flushed. He glanced down at those lips. They looked so soft and…and _kissable_. "They won't distract us this time," he mumbled, changing the mood quickly.

Before she had time to respond, he pulled her into a soft kiss, pulling away after only a moment. He gently smiled down at her, removing a hand from the small of her back. She laughed nervously, placing the tips of her fingers lightly against her lips.

"F-Feliciana?"

She looked up to meet his gaze. "Yes, Ludwig?"

"Will…will you…" Here it was! Feliciana knew what he was going to ask, and she had her answer at the tip of her tongue. "Will you spend Christmas with me?"

"Ye-, ah, huh?"

"I-I know you'll want to spend some time with your sister, but I have a present for you, so I was just wondering if you would like to come over for a little bit on Christmas."

Well, it wasn't exactly what she was expecting, but she could be patient. For now. "Of course. I have a present for you too."

Ludwig smiled. "Great." He mentally kicked himself. '_Nice going_, _Ludwig_,' he thought, following the Italian out of the room. He figured he'd have another chance to ask her what he'd really meant to say.

* * *

**So, I really hope you all enjoyed it! xD I watched a ton of different things while writing this. From Baccano!, to Darker Than Black (which is where I got the name Gai from), to Hockey O.o heh.**

**Hope the fluff didn't make your brain melt. xD sorry for the cliffhanger from last week! That was so much fun, though x3 fufufufu.**

**Anyway! I'm so happy about how many reviews I got for the last chapter! x3 you all are so amazing! xD I didn't think I would get this much feedback! It's very encouraging! ^_^ so, 'stay tuned' for next week's chapter! I've been thinking about ending it at that chapter, but I'm not too sure. x3 what do you think? End it next chapter, or write a little bit more?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language and an appearance from France.**

**Author Comments: Hey! France is actually in this chapter! xD whatdya know? xDD anyway, thank you all SO MUCH for your reviews! I have over 50 now! That's a ton to me! I'm sorry this is late! Dx it's been hectic with Christmas and all. Anyway, I apollogize if people are OOC. I tried to keep them in character. Anyway! Enough of my ranting! xD**

**Disclaimer: . .  
**

Ludwig rolled his eyes, trying his hardest not to strangle his simpleminded, and _very_ childish brother. Gilbert had been whining nonstop for hours about how unfair it was that he had to wait until their guests arrived to open his remaining presents. There was a faint rustling in the other room, one that hadn't gone unnoticed by Ludwig who stomped over to the door opening between the kitchen and the living room.

"What did I just tell you?" The blond yelled, making the albino jump and look over at him, guilt written all over his pale face.

"Aww, but I just want to open one! Pretty please?" Gilbert pled, looking at him with those puppy-dog eyes Feliciana always used on him. Unfortunately for Gilbert, the Italian girl was the only one that could pull it off.

"No, you opened a few from Dad last night. Be patient. Sheesh!" Sometimes Ludwig wondered who the older one was between the two (as did most everyone else).

"You're no fun." Just then the doorbell rang, much to the albino's delight. "Maddie!" Gilbert jumped to his feet, the forgotten present lying in his previous spot as he ran to the door. It was muffled but Ludwig could hear a faint "oh, it's just Kiku", and the front door close rather harshly.

The younger downed his glass of water before making his way to the door. "Sorry about him," Ludwig apologized, taking the large bag from Kiku's outstretched hand and set it gently down by the tree. The Japanese boy smiled sheepishly, keeping any rude comments to himself.

Kiku made his way to the couch and sat down, staring up at the tree. It was quite large, adorned messily with ornaments, tassel, and lights, a red and green-striped tree skirt at the bottom. "I am guessing Gilbert-san decorated the tree?"

Ludwig's lips turned up into a quick smirk as he examined the tree as well. Although Gilbert was very neat, he was impatient, so he practically threw the decorations onto the branches after about five minutes. Ludwig was much too busy to fix it. "How did you guess?" He said sarcastically, making the Japanese boy chuckle lightly behind his closed hand.

"Your girlfriend's here, Bruder!" Gilbert yelled loudly from the other room.

The German muttered a "she isn't my girlfriend" before excusing himself to greet the Italian. When he reached the door something solid met with his body, sending him back into the wall.

"Ludwig! I missed you!" The unmistakable voice of Feliciana sang as she gripped him tighter. It suddenly felt _very_ warm despite the bitter cold floating inside through the open door.

"Ah, Feli, we saw each other two days ago," Ludwig countered, patting her on the head before unwrapping her arms from around him. He still wasn't used to being all touchy-feely like his Italian friend was – except for that day he was sick in which his spontaneity took over him. She giggled and kissed him on the cheek before dashing off into the living room.

"Ah, l'amour," another instantly recognizable voice cooed from the doorway. Ludwig peered over to see a tall, longhaired blond standing there clad in black pants and a bright blue sweater; his hands knitted together next to his cheek, fluttering his lengthy eyelashes in the German's direction. "When did little Ludwig fall for such an adorable Italian girl, hmm?"

"Hello to you too, Francis." The blond turned on his heel and quickly made his way out of the foyer before the Frenchman could molest and/or jump him.

"Ludwig?" Feliciana called from the kitchen, peeking her head out into the living room. "Could you come here a minute?"

He nodded, swiftly making his way over to her. She giggled and held out a gift-wrapped package, smiling brightly. "I wanted to give this to you in private." Her ears turned a light pink as she stared down at the floor.

Ludwig took the gift and glanced around before grabbing her hand, walking down the hallway and into the library, softly shutting the door behind her. "There's something I would like to give to you in private too."

Feliciana let him drag her to the piano bench, patting the spot next to him. "Did Ludwig write me a song, ve~?" She asked, sitting right up next to him.

The boy's face turned a dark red as he pulled up the cover from the keyboard, setting her present to him in his lap. He tried his best to will away the nerves that were making his hands shake uncontrollably. He'd performed in front of her before, but that was before he realized that he _liked_ her. "I did. I, ah, hope you like it." At that he pressed his fingers softly down on the keys, a soothing melody erupting from the back of the grand piano, echoing off of the walls and bookshelves. Feliciana laid her head on his shoulder as she watched him play, trying to will the tears away. It was so lovely, and he wrote it just for _her_.

After about a minute or two the song ended on a beautiful note, the petal allowing the tune to carry on long after his fingers had stopped playing. Without looking at her he asked, "Did you like it?"

Feliciana could no longer keep in her tears. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, laughing amidst her sobs. "I loved it. So, so much Ludwig! This is the best present I've ever gotten."

She felt him shift slightly as he held her shoulders out at arms length, peering into her eyes. There was a passionate gleam in them, a small smile on her lips. She knew now that there was no need to be jealous of all those girls anymore, because now she had someone that could look at _her_ with eyes full of that passionate emotion, someone _they_ could be jealous of in turn. He stared into her chestnut orbs, as if nothing else in the world mattered. And, to him, nothing else _did_ matter. The girl sitting next to him was all he cared about at the moment.

Feliciana slowly closed the gap, gripping at the front of his shirt as her lips moved against his. She felt him respond, placing his hands on her cheeks, tilting her chin up to deepen the kiss. After what felt like forever, and yet not long enough, he pulled away, taking a spherical package from on top of the piano and placing it in her hands. "This is for you. I got it just in case you didn't like the song."

She giggled and opened it, laughing loudly as she revealed a small package of pasta beneath the wrapping paper. "You know me too well," the Italian girl said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Ludwig chuckled and ran a finger through his hair, feeling his stomach turn at the thought of what he was going to do next. "One more thing, before I open your present."

Feliciana looked at him and smiled, setting down the pasta and taking his hand. "What is it, Ludwig?"

Her touch helped ease his nerves, a boldness rushing over him. "I would like to ask you to be my girlfriend." He glanced up into her glittering eyes. "Will you?"

She squealed loudly and hugged him for the third, and probably not the last, time that day. "Yes! Only an idiot would say no!"

He laughed at her answer and hugged her back, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. Ludwig wasn't sure what he would have done if she'd said no. "It's a good thing you aren't an idiot."

"Ve~, I know right?" She giggled and pulled away from him. A soft smile tugged at her lips and a blush unfurled against her cheeks. "We've only been together a few seconds and I already know that you're the best boyfriend ever."

Ludwig felt his cheeks grow warm, his chest shaking as he chuckled softly. "Are you sure about that?"

"A bad boyfriend wouldn't have done all this for me," she said, pushing her present to him into his arms before he could say anything else. "Now open mine!"

The German looked a bit apprehensive, but started unwrapping it anyway. Feliciana had to sit on her hands to keep from opening it herself, since Ludwig was being much too slow. His eyes widened when he'd moved the paper away from the canvas. Soft, blue eyes were staring back at him. He examined the painting up and down, taking in the rest of the sight. A chiseled face stood behind two cerulean orbs, a nose with a small ridge at the top, and soft lips turned into a small smile, blond locks sitting atop the head in a neat fashion. "Wow," he said breathlessly, turning his attention to the Italian sitting next to him. "Did you paint this?"

She nodded quickly. "Of course! Since day one I wanted to paint your eyes, and after I had I found myself painting the rest of your very handsome face." She giggled, scooting up closer to him. "I hope it looks okay. Ve~, if it looks bad, I can try and paint another, better one!"

"No, no. Feli, it looks wonderful." He moved his hand up to caress her softly tanned cheek, trying to calm her down. "I love it. It's the best present I've ever gotten."

"Ve~, really? I'm so happy!"

They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, just completely content with one another. Well, until the door to the library slammed open, hitting the wall callously. "Hey! Lovebirds! Time to open presents!" Gilbert yelled, walking quickly back down the hallway.

The German quickly retracted his hand, standing up and almost stumbling off the seat, his face reddening in embarrassment. Feliciana just giggled and made her way over to him, placing a peck on his cheek before walking out of the library, her boyfriend following after.

When they arrived there was nowhere to sit. The couch was overtaken by a pissed-looking Gilbert, a satisfied-looking American named Alfred (who also happened to be Maddie's older brother), and an embarrassed-looking Maddie who desperately tried to coax Alfred into letting her sit next to her boyfriend, to no avail. Kiku sat in the loveseat, continually peering over at the group on the couch as if they were going to start a war on each other and, at the same time, trying to make sure the Frenchman on his other side kept his hands to himself.

"Ve~, I guess we get the floor, Ludwig!" Feliciana said, plopping down onto the fluffy carpet.

The German followed suit, grabbing the bag Kiku had brought and handed it to the Japanese boy who stood up and distributed the gifts amongst those around the room.

"Aww, Kiku! You didn't have to get me anything! Ve~, I didn't get anyone else anything! I feel terrible!" Feliciana cried nervously.

Gilbert laughed and grinned down at the girl. "You get to make lunch, then. We can consider that a present," he said, earning a sigh of relief from the Italian.

"I can do that! I'll make the best pasta ever!"

"Yes, yes, now let's open! Francypants, you go first."

Francis nodded and unwrapped his gift, pulling a pack of rose seeds from the small red bag. "Ah, just what I needed! My rose garden is terribly dead due to the snow. Thank you very much, Kiku," he said winking over at the boy, making Kiku uncomfortably shift in his seat.

"My turn! My turn!" Gilbert ripped through the paper, stopping quickly when he realized just what it was. "Ah, okay, who's next?"

"What did you get?" Alfred asked, snatching the manga from the albino's hands and reading the cover. "'Corpse Princess'?"

"Give that back, dammit!"

"Dude, isn't this a chick manga? Haha! Maddie, your boyfriend is totally gay!"

"I am not!" Gilbert finally plucked the book from the American's hand, placing it on the table just out of his reach. "It's supernatural fiction! And it has lots of girls in short skirts."

"Like you should be talking, Al. You read 'Full Metal Panic!'. Isn't that romantic comedy? If you ask me, that's a little more feminine than what Gil reads," Maddie argued quietly from her side of the couch.

Gilbert peered around at his girlfriend, grinning wide. "I love you, Maddie."

"Dude! 'Full Metal Panic!' is mecha; totally a manga for dudes. Now shut up so I can open my present," Alfred cried, unwrapping a package of Japanese candies. "Sweet! Thanks Kiku!" The black-haired boy smiled and nodded slightly.

Maddie's turn was next, to which she opened a small bag filled with maple candies. A large grin appeared at her lips and she took one out, popping it into her mouth. "Thank you, Kiku! These are my favourites! I used to have a whole bag of them before Al ate them all."

At that her brother visibly reddened. "Hey! It's not my fault they're incredibly delicious."

"Uh-huh. But it _is_ your fault that you have complete lack of self-control when it comes to food." She patted his belly for emphasis, at which Alfred maturely stuck his tongue out at her.

Feliciana giggled, waiting until it was quiet to unwrap hers. "Ve~, paints! How did you know that I paint, Kiku?"

The boy chuckled and glanced over at Ludwig. "You would be surprised at how much Ludwig-san talks about you."

"Aww! You talk about me?" The Italian girl swiftly turned to her boyfriend, planting a kiss on his cheek, ignoring his protests of PDA. "You're so sweet."

"Ah, yeah," Ludwig cleared his throat, trying to disregard the suggestive looks Francis and Gilbert were sending his way.

"Your turn! Open yours, Ludwig!" Feliciana clung to the German's arm and laid her head down on his shoulder. He'd never been one for showing affection in front of people, but it was Christmas and he supposed he'd let her win this time. It _definitely_ wasn't because he secretly enjoyed it when he got to show her off in front of everyone.

Ludwig set the gift into his lap and neatly unfolded the corners, trying his best not to rip the paper (why waste perfectly good wrapping paper?). A few groaned, some sighed, but he didn't really care. He was used to Gilbert shouting at him to 'just rip it already' anyway. Once he (finally) removed the gift-wrap and folded it into a neat rectangle, he eyed the skinny music book in his lap. 'Playing Like Beethoven' was printed at the top of the cover, a picture of a grand piano underneath.

"I saw that you didn't have this one in your collection," Kiku told him from across the room, smiling at Ludwig's look of contentment.

"Thank you, Kiku." Ludwig looked at him with a big smile, earning a squeal of delight from Feliciana who couldn't stop telling him how cute he was when he smiled that way.

"Alright, who's next?" Gilbert said loudly, jumping from his spot and shifting through the presents gathered underneath the tree.

* * *

Once they were finished opening presents Feliciana made her way to the kitchen to start on lunch. Gilbert and Maddie cuddled on the couch (when they were sure her brother wasn't paying attention) while Alfred and Kiku played videogames in front of the massive flat-screen in the living room. Francis was banished to the corner with a blackening eye after coping a feel from Maddie (which Gilbert and Alfred were _not_ happy about, to say the least). Ludwig accompanied his girlfriend in the kitchen, stealing glances and 'accidentally' brushing against her in the slightest of ways when he was sure no one was looking. It wasn't that he was ashamed that he was her girlfriend. No, he found her much more beautiful than any girl he'd ever seen. And to top it off, she was quite the amazing girl. He was just one of those guys that wasn't big on holding hands in public, not that he'd ever felt the need to do so before, being new to the dating thing and all. Ludwig just figured he'd eventually warm up to the idea of being affectionate in public. Actually, he was sure he would, since Feliciana was so comfortable with things like that.

About halfway through lunch preparations they received visitors at the door. The tall blond named Berwald, his shorter partner Tino, and their son Peter brought them some holiday cake, which they happily accepted. Feliciana invited them to have lunch with them (which they weren't completely sure of, but the Italian had _insisted_, and who can say no to a pleading Italian girl?), and once things were settled everyone sat at the long dining table to eat. Peter was a rambunctious little thing (where did he say he was from? Sealand? Was that even a country?), which meant he fit right in with the rest of them.

A few more videogames were played and one-by-one people started to shuffle on home. Feliciana stood sadly at the door, slipping on her shoes slowly.

"I had a wonderful time, Ludwig," she said, hugging him tightly.

Ludwig hugged back, not wanting to let go. "I did too. Thank you for making a great lunch," he told her, gradually untying his hands from her slender frame.

"Ve~, it's no problem! Anything for you, Ludwig!"

The German blushed, but smiled gladly. "Thanks."

Feliciana peered up at the doorframe, giggling loudly and looking at Ludwig amusedly. "It looks like someone left some mistletoe."

Ludwig glanced up and, sure enough, there was some mistletoe hanging above the door. "Looks like it."

The Italian closed the distance, placing her arms on the blonde's biceps. Ludwig quickly got the message and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers, blushing brightly as he pulled her closer. He could stay like that forever, and he knew she could too. Feeling rather brave the German slowly poked his tongue between her lips, hoping for entrance to her mouth. Sure, he'd never kissed before, but he'd read multiple stories (and how-to books) about the subject. Feliciana melted into him, opening her mouth slightly to let him in. His tongue danced around hers, savouring the sweet taste of her mouth (which, ironically, tasted like parmesan cheese) as he invaded slowly. Ludwig pulled away and looked deeply into her opening eyes, smiling at the jubilant glint in them.

"Ve~, who knew Ludwig was such a good kisser?" His face turned scarlet as she grinned widely at him, cuddling her face into his chest. "Good thing he's all mine, si?" Without waiting for an answer, she simply pulled away and pecked him on the lips, waving goodbye as she yelled, "Merry Christmas!" and strode off down the steps.

He chuckled and waved back. "Merry Christmas to you too, Feli!" Once she was out of sight he closed the door and leaned back against it.

This was _definitely_ the best Christmas Ludwig had ever experienced.

* * *

**The fluff! It buuuuurns! xD I hope you all enjoyed it! And didn't get bored! I also hope things aren't going too faaaast. Oh well, it'll be okay. xD  
**

**Dude, can't you see Gilbert liking Shikabane-Hime/Corpse Princess? xD and I would seriously pin Alfred as a Full Metal Panic! type of guy. Heh. ^_^;;**

**I guess it was obvious what Ludwig was going to give to Feliciana for Christmas. xD a few of you already figured it out.**

**ANYWAY! I might have a new one-shot to put up later if I finish it! x3 maybe another one if I have the time and laptop battery-life.**

**For those of you that do celebrate it, Merry Christmas! ^_^ and thank you all so so so so much for your reviews and favourites and story alerts!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, Genderbent!Spamano, and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language**

**Author Comments: I'm sooooooooorry! This is so late! things have been wicked busy and shit. And this chapter was a little 'eh'. I was like, hey! I have a great idea! Then when I wrote it, it turned out too short. xP so, I filled the spaces with random fluff. I hope it's okay, though. xD heh.**

**Disclaimer: It totally, like, don't own Hetaria.**

Ludwig slowly sauntered down the sidewalk, nervously fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. A few days earlier, Feliciana had called and asked if he would like to come over for New Year's Eve. To 'have dinner with the family'. He was going to eat with his girlfriend's _family_. Ludwig blushed at the title, which still made his heart leap in joy and anxiety at the same time.

She assured him that it wasn't a big deal. It was just her grandfather, since her parents passed away when she and Lovina were just babies and the rest of her family lived in Italy. But he was still apprehensive. He remembered her telling him a few weeks ago that her grandfather had Roman blood in him. Ludwig stopped walking. It wasn't too late to go home now and tell her he couldn't make it, right? He shook his head quickly, attempting to rid of such thoughts. If this were for her, then he'd do it, no matter how terrifying it was to him.

As he walked, he thought about the past few weeks. It seemed he would go through many lengths to make Feliciana happy; from sitting through a chick flick to braving a blizzard just to make sure she was all right. There were few things he wouldn't endure for her.

Sure, sometimes he found her so irritating he wanted to smack his head on the wall repeatedly. But that beautiful smile, her giggle, the way she made him feel when their skin touched, how he could lose himself in her eyes; those things countered out all the bad stuff. It was never the same without her. She was always on his mind. Things just didn't seem worth it without the bubbly Italian by his side. His best friend, his girlfriend, _his Feliciana_. He would have dinner with the family, if it would make her happy. Because, no matter how much he denied it, he was quickly falling hard for the girl.

Ludwig was surprised to find himself standing just outside her house. It hadn't taken him too long to get there on foot. Maybe this way was better than taking the car anyway, although that didn't make him any less aggravated at his stupid brother who had taken the car without asking first. Gilbert may be the eldest, but it was Ludwig's car. It wasn't his fault the albino got his car taken away after getting two or three speeding tickets.

The German took a deep breath before knocking at the door a few times. He was hoping Feliciana would answer, however fate seemed to have other plans, much to his dismay.

"What do you want, Potato-bastard?" Lovina (who else?) asked angrily as she peered out the opening between the door and the frame, frowning up at him.

"Ah, I was invited to dinner," he answered, scratching the back of his head nervously.

She looked even more displeased. "Right. I'm sure you're just here to get into my sister's pants." Her statement was quickly ignored when the door swung open and a giddy Italian girl flung herself onto him.

"Ludwig!" The unmistakable voice of Feliciana shouted, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What are you still doing out there? It's so cold!" She let go of him and tugged him inside, shutting the door behind him.

Lovina crossed her arms and looked away, clutching a small cloth tomato in her hand. Her sister turned to her, practically beaming. "Are you still holding that?" She asked, grabbing the tomato from her sister's hand and held it up so that Ludwig could see. "It's a pin cushion! Antonio got it for her! She hasn't put it down since!"

"Hey! Give that back, dammit!" The elder of the two yelled, snatching it back from her. Lovina tried to hold back a deep red blush, but failed miserably.

"Aww! So cute!" Feliciana turned to the boy, a dazzling grin on her lips. "Ve~, let's go see what Nonno is doing in the kitchen!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him into a room that smelled of semolina and tomatoes. "Nonno! Ludwig is here!"

The tall man turned to the couple, a smile upon his plump lips. "Well, hello! It's nice to finally meet you!" He wiped his hands on his apron and approached them, holding his hand out politely. "My name is Julius. I'm Feliciana and Lovina's grandpa."

Despite the slightly girly apron, Ludwig could tell this man was not to be messed with. Muscles adorned his body, more so than the German boy, and he was an inch or two taller. His hands were quite large and rough, and his skin was a dark olive colour much like his granddaughter's.

Ludwig kept from taking a small step back and hesitantly shook his hand. No one had intimidated him so much. He wasn't sure if it was because this man would beat his ass if he made Feliciana cry, or if it was his built physique. Probably both combined. "Ah, it's nice to meet you too."

The man laughed loudly, patting the blond on the shoulder. "You look so scared! Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Unless you do something to my granddaughters, that is. But I know my Feliciana is a good judge of character...most of the time."

Said Italian pouted. "Ve~, that was once, Nonno. Besides, I have Ludwig to protect me if some stranger offers candy to me again!" She animatedly waved her hands, grinning from ear to ear.

Ludwig resisted the urge to smack his palm to his forehead. It seemed he would have to keep a closer eye on her when they were out in public.

When her grandfather turned to continue his pot of spaghetti, Feliciana stepped closer to the German boy, holding his hand tightly. It was a nice feeling and it never failed to make him blush. Before he had the time to respond, Lovina stomped into the kitchen, pushed them apart, and pointed to opposite sides of the room.

"You two will stay on opposite sides of the kitchen. No holding hands, hugging, kissing, or making out. Got it?" She grumbled angrily, shooting an annoyed glare at Ludwig who sighed and ambled over to his appointed spot. It was best not to argue with the girl.

Feliciana did the same, a disappointed frown creasing her brow. They stood like that for a minute or two, Lovina proctoring them irritably. Why she felt the need to do so, neither knew. When she was sure her sister wasn't looking, Feliciana smiled and silently pecked her hand, blowing the kiss into Ludwig's direction. The elder of the two swiftly turned her head to glare at the younger, catching her in the act. She reached out into the air, grasping at nothing, and threw the alleged kiss to the floor, stomping onto it with the ball of her foot. "And no blowing kisses either!"

Just as Feliciana looked like she was about to burst into tears, Julius spun around with a bowl of beautifully made pasta in his hands. "Who's hungry?" He yelled loudly, walking over to the table and setting it down in the middle.

"PASTA!" Feliciana cried, all wrongdoings forgotten as she bounded over to the table and sat herself in a chair at the end. Ludwig waited until all were seated before taking a seat himself.

Dinner really wasn't as bad as the German boy had imagined it. At one point he and Julius had a rather lengthy conversation about the history of the Roman Empire. It ended when the brunette went on about how sex was a major part of the Roman lifestyle, and Ludwig felt very uncomfortable about the subject, quickly switching onto another topic. By the end of the dinner, Julius had deemed Ludwig a worthy boyfriend to his little Feliciana.

The Italian girl and the German boy were currently walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand, Feliciana babbling on about some Spanish New Years tradition involving grapes. It was a cold evening, but Ludwig supposed it was worth it since he got to have a little quiet time with his girlfriend before they had to head back to her house. Julius supposedly needed them to fetch him something from the grocery store and Feliciana was more than happy to run the errand for him.

Not too many people were outside at the moment and the snow had settled down somewhat. A few houses were still adorned with Christmas lights to which Feliciana never failed to point out, and fireworks in the distance beautifully lit up the night sky. Ludwig really didn't think it could get any more romantic than this. He impulsively stopped walking and tugged the Italian girl back gently, chuckling as she squealed and fell into his arms. Chestnut eyes stared up at him quizzically, her head tilting slightly. "What's wrong, Ludwig?" She asked softly, standing upright against his body.

He realized that he could be himself when he was alone with Feliciana. Things like this just came naturally to him; with her he wasn't afraid to show affection. Others might find it 'out of character' for him, but this was just the way he was with her.

"Nothing," he answered, tucking a strand of her hair back behind her ear. She looked dazzling, beautiful, wonderful, gorgeous, and every other sweet adjective combined. The blue sweater she wore hugged her nicely, and the navy jeans fit her perfectly. Come to think of it, she could be wearing a paper bag and he'd still find her more beautiful than any other. "I'm just wondering how someone like you could be with someone like me," he breathed quietly, the words escaping before he had the time to stop them.

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead against his. "Because we were meant for each other, Ludwig," she responded, placing a quick peck onto his lips.

Despite the blindingly red blush painting his face, he replied with a smile, slowly pressing his lips against hers. She tightened her arms around his neck and kissed back with more force, smiling against his lips. It was the most romantic thing that had ever happened to either of them.

They pulled away after a few seconds, smiling happily at each other, wanting nothing more than to be together. A month ago, neither of them thought that one fateful day they met would bring them together like this. If anything had gone differently, neither of them would be as happy as they were now.

* * *

When they arrived back at Feliciana's house, everyone – Julius, Lovina, and the newly arrived Antonio – sat together on the couch, watching the television. The Spaniard had his arm wrapped around Lovina's waist, secretly stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye.

The couple set down the groceries in the kitchen, kissed one more time, and made their way out to sit with the others.

Being squished in between an angry Italian girl and her grandfather really wasn't Ludwig's idea of fun, especially since his girlfriend was seated on the other side of said grandfather, but Julius had insisted it. Something about 'having to further prove himself if he ever wanted to marry his granddaughter' to which Ludwig sputtered and attempted to explain that he had no such intentions. _Yet_, at least, but he definitely wasn't about to say something like that. So, for the time being, he had to bear with Lovina's shouting and grumbling and irritating poking. At one point she even pulled out a fake mustache. He really wasn't sure what that was about.

Once the time hit midnight and the ball had dropped, Antonio and Lovina shared a soft kiss (after which the Italian had pushed him away and called him a 'tomato bastard'), Julius hugged Feliciana tightly, and Ludwig frowned at the wall. He decided that next time it hit the New Year, he and Feliciana would be alone. No annoying family to get in their way.

Minutes later Ludwig voiced to the room that he needed to go home. Feliciana walked him to the door, smiling brightly up at him. "Ve~, be safe walking home!" She said loudly, wrapping her arms around him. He returned the embrace, stealing a quick whiff of her curly auburn locks. Feliciana pulled away and looked him in the eye, biting her lip shyly. "Hey Ludwig," she started quietly, almost sensually, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "I just realized that I haven't gotten to kiss you yet this year."

Ludwig opened his mouth, then closed it again. Her tone made him swoon. Gosh, she could get _any_ guy if she talked like that. Luckily, she was his, so only he got to hear her speak like that. N-not that he really wanted to hear her speak sensually to him. "Then we'd better change that," he replied breathlessly, holding her cheeks softly in his hands and kissed her softly.

Well, it started off soft. When she grabbed the front of his coat and pulled him down, it became more passionate. His lips captured her bottom one, gently sucking and licking at it. She pulled away teasingly, smirking slightly before she leaned up and nipped at his upper lip. It suddenly became a game to the two as they teased one another and fought for dominance. Ludwig won, of course, being the badass German he was. Italians may be excellent lovers, but Germans were stubborn as hell.

With that Ludwig was off, waving back at his girlfriend until she was out of sight.

* * *

**I'm so lost on what should happen next. xD I'm trying to figure out if the next chapter should be the last, since I don't want this story to start getting super boring! And I want to start on my next story. x3 Ahh, I need some ideas from my awesome readers! Please! xD**

**And, ah, this chapter is kind of dedicated to my wonderful gf. ^/^ all the things Ludwig thinks of Feli comes from my own experiences. xD and the fact that I'm German and she's Italian helps.**

**Ah, enough of the liebe! I hope it's okay! And I'd really love some ideas if you all want this story to be a little longer. x3**

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing and favouriting and story alerting and stuff!**

**To be continued, maybe! xD**


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, Genderbent!Spamano, and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language.**

**Author Comments: I'm sorry again. xD I'm really making it a habit of updating late, aren't I? I was siiiick, and working on my own original story, so...yeah, that's my excuse. x3 I hope you enjoy! And thank you all soooo much for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I don't own Hetalia.**

It was weird - strange, odd, and slightly uncomfortable. The hand holding his own tightened, and when he looked down to his right, the girl next to him gave him a small smile. That was all he needed. Confidence glowed off of him as he and Feliciana made their way down the halls, ignoring the intent staring of the other students. Many whispered as they walked by, others grinned mischievously, and some just didn't seem to mind.

They weren't the only new couple, though. He watched amusedly as Alfred chased Gilbert up the steps to the second floor, shouting, "How dare you kiss my sister! I'll kick your ass, albino freak!"

Gilbert's unmistakable laugh echoed through the school as he weaved through people, trying his hardest not to run into anyone and risk being caught. A whoosh of air passed by Ludwig and Feliciana as another body made their way through the crowds, running quickly after the other two. "Alfred! Get back here! He didn't do anything!" Maddie uncharacteristically yelled, following her brother and boyfriend.

"D-dammit, Spanish bastard! Don't hold my hand in front of a-all these people!" Came a voice from behind them. The two turned to see Lovina, a huge blush on her face, and Antonio, who gave her a confused look.

"But Lovi~, we're dating, aren't we? Feli and Ludwig are holding hands, why can't we?" He asked, motioning to the couple in front of them.

Lovina turned her head quickly towards them, glaring the German boy down. "Hey! Who do you think you are, touching my sister so easily? What have I told you two about holding hands, you Potato-bastard?" She cried furiously, the red tint of her face no longer from embarrassment.

"Ve~, but sorella! I want to hold Ludwig's hand!" Feliciana whined back, pouting up at her. She wanted a chance to show to all the girls that this boy was hers, and that none of them were to flirt, seduce, or touch him. Oh, they could fawn over him all they wanted, she couldn't blame them for that.

"No! Absolutely not! Now go to class before you're late!"

Feliciana opened her mouth to retort, but quickly closed it when her sister's look became murderous. She looked up at Ludwig and smiled slightly, leaning up and pecking him on the lips before she ran off to her locker. The German boy ignored the seething Italian from behind him as he watched after his girlfriend, smiling fondly. Many girls 'aww'ed, boys sniggered, and teachers shook their heads at how school was turning more into a social environment than a learning one. Ludwig quickly made his way to class, brushing off the many stares.

Ludwig was glad when it was the class right before lunch. Which meant he would be having music class with Mr. Edelstein and Ms. Hedervary. Although it was his favourite class, he really had a hard time not getting angry with his teachers. Mr. Edelstein was Austrian, and loved to let the class know that fact at least once a day. And he was probably one of the strictest teachers in the school. It also didn't help that he and Ludwig were cousins who bickered over which country Mozart and Beethoven came from. Ludwig didn't necessarily mind Ms. Hedervary. However, that frying pan she wielded never seized to give him a fright. One wrong note and '_bam!_' you were out the rest of the day.

No one was really sure of the relationship between the two teachers. Rumors flew around that they had once been married, others said they were living together, and some simply stated that there was nothing going on between them. Ludwig knew the truth, though. Mr. Edelstein and Ms. Hedervary had been in a relationship for years. It was on and off, one or more things going wrong, but in the end he had proposed and she had accepted. Their wedding date was a year away.

An angry slap to the head pulled him from his reverie. Mr. Edelstein stared at him menacingly, the mole on his face twitching slightly. Creepy.

"I know you just got back from vacation, but now is school time, and you must pay attention. I will not have your daydreaming disrupting my class." Mr. Edelstein pushed up his glasses, frowning down at his young blond student.

"Yes, Sir," Ludwig replied, looking back to his music. It was rather difficult to concentrate, his mind very much elsewhere.

The teachers stood at the front, orchestrating (more like scolding) the rest of the class, Ludwig listening for his cue. Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to the door. Peering inside the open room was none other than the beautiful Feliciana. She smiled widely at him, subtly blowing him a kiss. Unfortunately, that was his cue to come in.

"Ludwig!" Mr. Edelstein, once again, attempted to scare the life out of him.

"S-sorry! I wasn't paying attention," he said, turning towards the teacher.

"I can see that! One more time and you get a detention, got that?"

"Ve~!" Feliciana stepped into the class, nervously fidgeting with the piece of paper in her hand. "It was my fault! Please don't get mad at him!"

"Feli!" Ms. Hedervary squealed, running over to the young girl, hugging her tightly. "It's been so long! You've grown into such a pretty young woman!"

Feliciana giggled, hugging back. "Thank you, Elizaveta! I-I mean, Ms. Hedervary!" She pulled away, smiling up at the other teacher.

"What do you want, Feliciana?" Mr. Edelstein asked, his tone much less irritated than it had been. This seemed quite odd to the German boy. Then again, it was easy to go soft for the Italian girl.

"Mr. Wang told me to give this to you, ve~!" She answered, holding out the slip of paper to him.

"Thank you, Feliciana. Please leave now."

She nodded and skipped over to Ludwig, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek before running back out of the class. He knew his whole face, up to the tips of his ears, was red now. Everyone stared at him incredulously, whispering quietly between one another. Even the teachers looked at him for a generous amount of time, the expression on their faces unchanging.

"Ah, let's get back to what we were doing!" Mr. Edelstein said quickly, tapping his wand on the stand in front of him.

Ludwig wanted to crawl under the piano from embarrassment, but decided he'd rather not get a detention.

The couple walked together to the cafeteria silently, stringing through the anxious bodies crowding around the hallway like an unhealthy person's arteries. Feliciana gripped his hand, smiling up at his quizzical expression. "I missed you, Ludwig!" She finally exclaimed, hugging his arm softly.

Ludwig's face grew red at the sudden display of affection, and the curious looks from those at their lockers. "Missed you too, Feli. Although I did just see you ten minutes ago," he replied, patting her back and pulling slightly away from her.

Her face fell, her arm moving back to her side instinctively. "I-I didn't know that you had class with Ms. Elizaveta and Mr. Roderich."

The German boy sighed, glancing down at her. "Yeah. Ah, about that. I…I don't find it appropriate to kiss in front of other people."

She looked up at him nervously. "Y-you didn't like my kiss?"

"It's not that I didn't like it. It's just that…it wasn't appropriate."

Feliciana looked away and sniffled, the tops of her shoulders shuddering. "I-I-I'm sorry for making you mad at me."

Ludwig sighed, laying a hand on her shoulder to which she shrugged off. He felt the frown on his face deepen. "I'm not mad at you. I just…" He groaned and stopped walking, tugging her back softly. "Look at me." She shook her head. "Feliciana…"

"No." Again, her head shook furiously. "You're embarrassed to be seen with me."

"Stop being so dramatic, Feliciana." Tears fell from her eyes down onto the floor. He shouldn't have brought it up.

"See? You are embarrassed."

"No, no, I'm not. I…" Ludwig gently cupped her chin, staring down into her eyes. "I'm just not used to this kind of thing. You'll have to give me some time. Okay?"

She nodded, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "Okay." Feliciana leant up to kiss him on the cheek, but stopped in her tracks. She patted him on the arm and turned around, mopping the tears from her cheeks with the heel of her hand. "We should, um, go to lunch now."

Ludwig really couldn't take this. He hadn't meant to make her cry. "F-Feliciana."

"It's really alright." She smiled sadly at him, evident tearstains on her cheeks. "I just want to make you happy, Ludwig. I really didn't mean to upset you."

Well, he really felt stupid. Heart pounding, nerves making his head spin, he hesitantly stepped up to her and kissed the newly forming tears away. The words that came out of his mouth next escaped before he could think them through (that was happening a lot lately). "I'm very happy. You make me incredibly happy already. I shouldn't care what others think. I should only care about what you want. Because I want to make you happy too." Well, that was _seriously_ cheesy.

Feliciana giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in. "Ve~, I'm glad. For a while there I was worried that I had embarrassed you."

"How could I be embarrassed to be seen with someone so beautiful?" Ah, geez. Where the hell did _that_ come from?

Her face grew bright red and she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. "Y-you think I'm beautiful?"

"Of course." Ludwig took her by the shoulders and held her at arms length, staring deeply into her eyes. "Let's go to lunch before we get into trouble."

Feliciana giggled and nodded quickly, grabbing his hand and hauling him to the cafeteria.

"Like, omg, this is your boyfriend, Feliciana? He's totally cute," the blond sitting across from Ludwig exclaimed, grinning up at him. "So, like, how far have you two gotten?"

Ludwig felt his face heat up, his heart beating quickly against his ribcage. "U-um…"

"We've just kissed! And made out. And some Frenching. But that's it!" Feliciana grabbed onto his arm, completely missing the horrified look on his face.

"Aww, my Feliciana is finally growing up! Don't forget to use protection when you decide to go further!"

"That's it! Let's not talk about this anymore." Ludwig commanded the two, his face looking on the verge of blowing up.

"Oh! Feliks!" Thankfully, Feliciana was good at changing the subject. "You remember when I was telling you about that bookstore I volunteer at?"

"Like, I think so."

"There's this boy that works there that I think you would totally like. His name is Toris. You should…" And at that, Ludwig stopped listening. He couldn't care less about gossip between two girls. Well, Feliks wasn't a girl, but he was enough to classify as one.

"_Ludwig Beilschmidt, please come up to the office. Ludwig Beilschmidt, please come up to the office_," came over the loudspeaker.

Before he knew it the entire student population was staring at him. Ludwig cleared his throat and stood up, telling Feliciana that he would be back, and walked out the doors. He prayed to God that he wasn't in trouble for the kiss in the music room earlier. But his girlfriend would be in trouble as well, right? Then what could it be? It was his first day back after winter break and he was already in trouble? M-maybe they just mixed up his name with his brother's! Yes, that had to be it.

Taking a deep breath, Ludwig stepped into the front office and made his way up to the desk. "Ah, hello," he told the secretary nervously, fidgeting with the inside of his pocket, "I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt."

"Oh! Yes!" The secretary set down her nail file and grabbed the phone, pushing a button and handing it to him. "Your father is on the line."

His father. His _father_ was calling him at _school_? This was _not_ a good sign. Gulping audibly, Ludwig pressed the phone to his ear. "Hello, Vater."

The gruff voice on the other end of the line sent chills up his spine. "Hello, Ludwig. I have something to tell you."

* * *

**GASP! What's going to happen? xD I got multiple people saying that they don't want it to end. And, honestly, neither do I. It's really become a big part of me. So, I kind of thought of something that will, hopefully, add more onto the story. I mean, they're barely into their relationship! There needs to be more! xD it might get a little angsty from here, but it's still very much a fluffy, romantic fanfiction (I'm awful at angst). x3 and I'm sorry about the cliffhanger (*cough*notreally*cough*).**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed it! This chapter wasn't really my best, but hopefully there will be better chapters to come! And, yeah, more sappy parts to come, too. xD**

**Oh! My birthday's the 16th! Yay! xD sorry, just had to share that. And my kitty, Bella, says hello! x3 (raaaaaaandom!)**

**One more thing! I need a name for Ludwig's dad! Suggestions, pleeeeeeease! ^_^**

**Thank you for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, Genderbent!Spamano, and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language.**

**Author Comments: I'm so sorry! Dx this is extremely late! I got kind of stuck. Hopefully I can make it up to you all with a much longer chapter 12!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. x3**

"Dad, why are you calling me from school?" Ludwig asked concerned, gripping the edge of the desk to keep from passing out.

"I have an important meeting later, so I would not be able to contact you tonight, and I needed to make sure that you have enough time to pack by next week," his father replied nonchalantly.

"Pack? What do you mean?" Ludwig heard his voice crack.

"I found a school here in Germany that would look great on your college applications. I have already set everything up, and they are very impressed with your grades."

"Dad, why now? Is Gilbert coming too?" He supposed they would have called his brother to the office if that was the case, but he had to check anyway.

"No, your brother will not be joining us. He is a senior, so pulling him out now would not be appropriate."

Ludwig wasn't sure what to say. He desperately wanted to tell his father 'no', to tell him that he didn't want to go and that he wanted to stay with his girlfriend. But, unfortunately, he could not. Never before in his life had he defiled his father, and anyone who met his father would realize why.

"Ludwig, I have to leave now. I trust you will be ready for me next week?"

"Of course, Vater. See you then. Goodbye."

Ludwig hung up once his father was done saying his goodbyes, his hands quivering. What was he to do? And what about Feliciana? He prayed that she wouldn't break up with him upon hearing this. The thoughts plagued him as he stepped out of the office and down to the cafeteria, taking a deep breath when he reached his destination. He swung open the doors and stole up to Feliciana, ignoring the looks of curiosity. She looked concerned, but took his hand anyway and followed him out to the hallway, smiling up at him after the doors had closed.

"Ve~, what's going on?" She asked, taking both his hands into hers.

Ludwig sighed, unable to look her in the eye. "I, um…" his mouth was dry, and the words wouldn't pass his lips.

"L-Ludwig, please." Feliciana tilted her head, her smile turning into a worried frown.

"I was called to the office because my father was on the phone." He peered over at her face, his heart dropping at the expression. "He wants me to live with him in Germany. I leave next week."

Tears brimmed, her bottom lip quivered, and hands gripped the front of his shirt. "You're…you're leaving? You can't leave! L-Ludwig, please, don't go." She couldn't believe it. Right when something incredible happened to her, it got taken right under her feet. And what would this do to their relationship? Could they really pull off the 'long-distance' relationship? Feliciana pressed her face into the front of his shirt and cried, sobbing louder when his arms wrapped tightly around her frame.

"I'm so sorry, Feliciana. There's nothing I can do about this," he told her quietly, placing his forehead down on her crown.

"You aren't," she started, taking a deep breath, "you're not going to break up with me because of this, are you?"

Ludwig tensed, closing his eyes tightly. "Don't say things like that. There's no way I would break up with you because of something like this. We can make it work." He placed his hands on her shoulders and held her back, gazing down into her eyes. "Unless you would rather we weren't together."

"Ludwig!" Her face was completely soaked and her eyes filled with hurt. "It'll be okay." She reached up and stroked his cheek with her thumb, ridding of a tear he didn't know had escaped. He leaned down and kissed her softly, shutting his eyes tightly, wrapping his arms around her waist. Feliciana placed both hands on his cheeks, leaning into his touch. She loved being in his arms; his body was always so warm when pressed against hers. Sadly, that's when the bell rung. Students poured out of the cafeteria and dispersed to their rightful classes, leaving the couple amidst the hustle. They pulled away slowly, gazing down into each other's eyes. Feliciana stepped back and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, nervously looking at the ground. "I'll meet you at your locker after school, okay?"

Ludwig nodded and kissed her on the forehead, giving her a small smile before walking up to his class. She watched him leave and bit her lip hard, taking in a shaky breath before strolling off to the girl's bathroom.

* * *

Ludwig stood at his locker, waiting impatiently for his girlfriend to arrive. He'd never been one to grow worried when someone was late, but after the day they had, he was incredibly troubled. He looked around for someone that might have had last period with her, spotting Maddie amidst the crowd. "Maddie!" He called, waving her over.

She jumped and turned to him, smiling slightly before meandering over to him. "Hello, Ludwig," she said softly, frowning at his look of displeasure. "Is something wrong?"

"Have you seen Feliciana?" He tried to keep the shake out of his voice, to no avail.

"N-no, I haven't. She wasn't in last period. And Feliks said that he didn't see her in the class before."

Ludwig nodded, said a quick 'thank you', and ran off to find someone that might know where she could be. He asked just about everyone, none of his answers getting him any closer to his destination. There was one person he had yet to ask, though; one person that he absolutely did _not_ wish to ask, but if he wanted to find Feliciana, he had to.

"Hey, um, Lovina?" He asked, stepping up to the hot-headed Italian girl.

She glanced back, grimacing up at him. "What do you want, Potato-bastard?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I was just wondering where your sister was. No one seems to know."

Lovina rolled her eyes and pointed to the bathroom, sighing heavily. "She refuses to come out. What did you do to her?"

But before her question was answered, he was already down the hall.

"Feliciana?" He asked, standing just outside the girl's bathroom.

There was a gasp from inside and the door swung open, swollen red eyes looking up at him. "I-I'm sorry, Ludwig. I lost track of time, v-ve~," she told him, wiping her face with her jacket sleeve.

"What's wrong? You look like you've been crying." Ludwig took her hands and pulled her closer, peering over the tear stains coating her cheeks.

"N-no, I haven't been c-crying." She laughed humorlessly, holding his hands tightly. "Everything is fine."

"Don't lie to me, Feliciana," he told her sternly, bending his head down to look into her eyes. "Are you still upset about me leaving?"

That must have hit something, because she grew silent and looked away from his face. "Of course not."

Ludwig sighed and looked around the hall, pulling her with him out the doors leading to the outside. Once they were away from the other students, he placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a questioning look. Before he could say anything, she started.

"What if you find someone in Germany that's better than me?"

He looked at her incredulously, quickly pulling her into a tight embrace. How could she ask something like that? "Don't worry about that. You're the only girl for me. I care about you too much to let you go."

Her grip tightened, her face pressing into his chest. Everything would be okay.

* * *

Lovina paced the living room, grumbling under her breath to herself. "Stupid Potato," she mumbled, clenching her fists, "I swear I'll kill him if he did anything to her."

"Lovi~, please come sit and tell me what's wrong," Antonio pled, patting the spot on the couch next to him.

"What the hell do you think is wrong? Feliciana isn't home yet, and the last person I saw her with was that macho boyfriend of hers!" She seethed, slumping down on the couch.

Antonio sighed and pet her hair. "Gilbert told me that he has to leave next week."

She looked over at him, shocked. "Where is he going?"

"Germany, with his father. I'm sure Feliciana is just trying to spend as much time as possible with him."

Lovina was quiet for a moment, staring down at her shoes. She really disliked Ludwig, but he made her sister so happy. And now he was leaving? "Why the hell is he doing that?" She spat, looking over at Antonio who just smiled slightly and pulled her closer.

"I dunno. Gil didn't tell me."

She sighed and laid her head down on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I can't imagine how she feels."

Antonio took the chance and held her closely, petting the back of her hair. It was rare moments like these when she wouldn't scold him for being so close. "Neither can I."

Her face grew bright red, but she didn't pull away. "Don't…ever leave me, okay?" She hesitantly peered up at his face, gazing into his pools of emerald. He looked at her with an unimaginable amount of passion, raw feelings of affection in his eyes.

He chuckled softly and lifted her chin, kissing her gently on the lips. When they pulled away, he whispered, "I'll never leave you; because I love you. I would kick and scream before I let anyone take me from you."

Lovina gulped and leaned in for another kiss, tears brimming her eyes. "I love you too," she told him softly once the kiss broke again. It had been a while since they had told each other, and it was almost impossible to keep inside; but since she was so stubborn and prideful, it was an occurrence that happened only when they were completely alone. She was glad that she got to say it now though; she'd wanted to tell him for so long.

When she decided that enough was enough, she pushed him off of her and crossed her arms. "Go get me a tomato, Bastard."

The Spaniard was knocked off guard, but nodded and grinned happily, jumping from his seat. "Of course, my Lovi~!"

It wasn't until he turned around that she let the ends of her lips turn into a bright smile. She watched with possessiveness as he walked (pranced) into the kitchen. Not only was his heart hers, but that body was as well. She didn't think she'd ever get over how nice that ass of his was.

* * *

"Ve~, Ludwig?" Feliciana asked, peering up from her spot on the couch.

"Yes, Feli?" He replied, looking over at her spot on the floor. Hanatamago happily exposed her belly as Feliciana continued to scratch.

"Do you ever want kids?" She asked bluntly, causing her boyfriend to turn scarlet.

Ludwig glanced over at Peter who was much too wrapped up in watching some Japanese show about robots to care. "Ah…maybe. Someday."

Feliciana giggled, laying her head on his leg. She was glad that they got to baby-sit today; it was a good excuse to spend time with Ludwig before he had to leave. "I think you would make a good Daddy." She sighed and closed her eyes, continuing to rub Hanatomago's stomach.

"Er, thanks." Ludwig really wasn't sure what to say. He'd never thought about having kids.

Feliciana just giggled and looked up at him upside-down, grinning vibrantly. Ludwig shook his head and smiled slightly, leaning down to peck a small kiss on her lips.

"Eww! Get a room!" Peter yelled from his perch in front of the television. The couple pulled away, an annoyed scowl on the German's face and an embarrassed smile on the Italian's. "Geez, you're just like my parents!"

Before Ludwig could scold him, Feliciana had already gotten up to turn off the television. "Alright, I promised Tino I would get you in bed on time. Let's go get you ready."

Peter let out a groan of disappointment and got up from his seat, following the girl to the bathroom. Ludwig lay back on the couch, shifting slightly when Hanatomago jumped up and curled up next to him. Time was going much too quickly for his liking. Before he knew it, he'd be on a plane to his home country, missing Feliciana every second he was gone. Sighing, he lifted his hand and scratched Hanatomago behind the ears. In a way, he was happy to be going back to Germany. He missed his dogs, his room, his father; but none of those together would measure up to how much he would miss his girlfriend.

Feliciana yawned and stepped out of Peter's room, strolling back into the living room. She smiled softly and slowly neared them, crawling on top of Ludwig and laying on his warm body, cuddling into his chest. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her tightly, closing his eyes and wishing that time would seize, so that he could forever be with his Feliciana.

* * *

Unfortunately, time continued, and a week had passed. Feliciana and Ludwig were currently sitting outside on the stoop of the house, holding hands and stealing kisses once in a while. Kiku and Gilbert were there too, sitting next to the couple in an uncomfortable silence. Feliciana was taking deep breaths, trying her hardest not to bawl like a baby. She didn't want Ludwig to feel guiltier than he already did. But when a large car pulled up into the driveway, she couldn't keep them in. Tears fell down her cheeks at an alarming rate, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. She knew it wouldn't keep him there, but it really couldn't be helped. Ludwig blushed slightly and pet her hair, trying to calm her down. A tall, blond man stepped out of the fancy car, a very stoic expression on his face. Ludwig noted that the man looked much older than when he'd last seen him.

The man stepped up to the teens, looking them over before settling his eyes on the crying girl in his son's arms.

"Ah, hey Dad," Ludwig said nervously, blushing as he realized the predicament he was in.

"Hello, Ludwig," his father replied, peering over at his son. "Who is this young lady?"

"This is Feliciana. She's my girlfriend." Ludwig felt his face grow extremely warm.

The elder German man knelt down to their level, making sure his expensive black pants didn't hit the ground. Feliciana peered over at him, eyes red and puffy.

"Ve, h-hello Ludwig's Daddy," she said uneasily, not letting go of her boyfriend's neck.

"It's nice to meet you, Feliciana. My name is Marx," the man said, holding out his hand to her.

Feliciana wiped her eyes with her sleeves before shaking his hand gently. "It's nice to meet you too."

Marx gave her a small smile and let go, standing up slowly, joints cracking due to his age. "Are you ready to go, Ludwig?"

The young boy nodded slightly, peering over at his girlfriend. "Feli, you have to let me up," he told her gently, his heart churning when their eyes met. That look of hurt and fear killed him. He wasn't sure if he could do this to her.

Feliciana sighed and leaned up, kissing him like he'd never been kissed before. Ludwig was aware of the stares, but paid them no mind. He wasn't sure when he would be able to kiss her again. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close, pulling away slowly to stare into her eyes. "Be safe, Ludwig," she told him, gently letting him go.

"I will be," he replied, kissing her forehead before standing up.

"What about the awesome me?" Gilbert said loudly, running over to pull his brother into a tight hug. "I'll miss ya too!" Ludwig chuckled and hugged him, patting his back fondly. "I know you'll miss my awesome!"

"Of course, Gilbert."

His brother let go and grinned, patting his cheek before stepping back to his place on the porch. Kiku smiled and held out his hand, a hint of sadness in his eyes - Ludwig was a great friend, after all. Ludwig smiled and shook his hand, letting go a few moments later.

The German boy turned back to Feliciana and gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek, ridding of the tears gathered. "We'll see each other again soon. I promise."

Feliciana nodded and tried to hold back her tears, to no avail. "Bye, Ludwig."

"Goodbye."

And with that, Ludwig and his father gathered his things and packed them away in the car, driving off with the German boy staring out the tinted window at the people he was leaving behind.

Feliciana watched as the car disappeared into the distance, the dam holding back her tears breaking into pieces. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

* * *

**I hope it wasn't too lame! Dx I've had to say 'goodbye' so many times, and yet I'm bad at representing it in writing. Chapter 12 will be much better, since I can relate to the situation (I haven't seen my gf in about nine months, I believe), so it'll be much longer. ^^**

**Oh! And _BloodySilverThorns_, I hope you enjoyed the mini Spamano piece! It's pretty small, but I hope it's okay x3**

**Thank you all for your name suggestions! They were all wonderful and I had a very difficult time finding the perfect one! But I think Marx was best suited for Ludwig's father. ^^**

**I so appreciate all of your reviews! Feel free to request something! x3 As long as it pertains to the plot. You all are such wonderful readers! ^^ I won't take as long on Chapter 12 as I did on this one. Thank you for being so patient with me. ^_^**


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada, Genderbent!Spamano, and SwedenxFinland. Rated T for mild language.**

**Author Comments: I'm actually not that late this time! xD ugh, this chapter kicked my ass. But it's done and I can relax! I really hope it's okies! I'm really worried about it.**

**Anyway! Enjoy! And thank you, thank you, thank you all for reviewing, favouriting, and alerting! :3 it makes me so happy! And I will be answering reviews to the last chapter at the end of this one, since I'm paranoid about sending messages to people about reviews and them not remembering that they reviewed. I mean, it's never happened, but I get really nervous when I think I've embarrassed myself. xD**

**Disclaimer: Fanfiction. Need I say more?**

**

* * *

**

Gilbert jumped onto the couch, grinning all the while. He could watch television without his brother yelling at him for being too loud! The albino boy grabbed the remote and pressed the power button, sitting back happily and set his feet up on the coffee table (another thing his brother had no control over anymore). He searched through channels, landing quickly on South Park, to which he dropped the remote and watched contentedly. Minutes passed, and no one yelled at him to keep it down. He should have been happy, but something inside of him missed being scolded for having the volume up too high. It was barren, desolate, deserted, and Gilbert didn't enjoy it one bit. He missed his little brother.

He grabbed the phone and pressed in Maddie's number, tapping his fingertips against his leg as he waited for someone to pick up. Why wasn't he calling Ludwig? Well, he didn't want his brother to know how much he missed him! His pride would be on the line! So, he decided to call his girlfriend to keep him company.

"Hello, this is the Hero, how may I help you?" Alfred answered, much to Gilbert's dismay.

"Hey! Where's your sister?" He commanded unhappily.

"Sorry, dude. She's at hockey practice. You're her boyfriend; you should know these things. I knew you weren't right for he-…dude?"

Gilbert dropped the phone back into the cradle, stretching out on the couch. He knew Alfred would be pissed that he hung up on him, but he didn't really care. Maddie wasn't home. Who else could he call? There was Roderich, but it wasn't as if that Austrian would say yes to his invitation. He could ask Antonio and Francis, but he knew they'd most likely bring along Lovina and Arthur, and he was _not_ up to dealing with a cranky Italian and a PMSing Brit.

So he closed his eyes and took a nap to pass the time, hoping somehow that his brother would come back.

* * *

Ludwig plopped back on his bed, sighing loudly to himself. Ever since he got home a day ago he'd done nothing but unpack and straighten up. Now he had time to think, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He wanted to call Feliciana, to hear her giggle and go on and on about pasta, but he didn't want to bother her. It'd only been a day, and he was sure Lovina would have a fit if he called now. No, he had to keep his head up. If he gave in now he surely wouldn't be able to go months without her. No matter how much it killed him, he had to try and keep busy.

A large German Shepard leaped up onto the bed, curling up next to the German boy. Ludwig smiled softly, ruffling the hair on his dog's head.

"Oh, Blackie, I don't know what to do," he told him, earning a lick to his cheek. Ludwig chuckled and nuzzled his face into the dog's neck, sighing loudly into the dog's short fur. He'd never missed someone so much in his life.

Feliciana wasn't doing too well either. She tried her best to keep a smile on her face, but it was much too difficult to keep up. Seeing Antonio and her sister together made her incredibly jealous, but it wasn't as if she could say anything. It wouldn't be fair to keep them apart just because she was miserable.

She'd thought about calling him, telling him that she missed him and that she would do anything to catch a plane to Germany just to get a kiss from him. But he was probably too busy to talk right now, and what if he didn't miss her?

_Oh no_! Feliciana jumped from her perch on the bed, nibbling on her thumbnail. What if he forgot about her? Germany was a big place! She'd been to Italy, which was only slightly bigger, and it was very easy to forget things in a place like that! Tears filled her eyes and she picked up the phone, dialing the number Gilbert had given her to their father's house. It rung a few times before a very gruff voice picked up on the other line.

"Hallo?" It asked curiously.

"Ve~, hello! May I speak to Ludwig?" She replied nervously, wiping her eyes quickly.

The other line was quiet for a moment. "Ich verstehe nicht du." (_I don't understand you_.)

Feliciana's eyes widened. Of course they spoke German in Germany! "A-ah, sprechen zu Ludwig…bitte?" (_Speak to Ludwig…please?_) She didn't know much, but after having heard Ludwig speak it occasionally (which was rather sexy, she must admit), she picked a few words here and there.

"Einen Augenblick." (_One moment_.)

Feliciana wasn't exactly sure what they said, and was just about to say something when another, very different voice answered.

"Hallo?" Feliciana knew the voice very well. It was _her_ Ludwig.

"Ludwig!" Newly formed tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh! Hello, Feliciana. What's wrong?" He was concerned after having heard her sob.

"I just miss you and wanted to make sure that you haven't forgotten me yet."

So that's what this is about. "Feli, I won't forget you. I promise."

She sniffled. "Pinky promise?"

Ludwig chuckled, nodding to himself. "Pinky promise."

"Ve~, yay! Oh, Ludwig! How was your flight? Have you done anything fun yet? When do you start school? Do you miss me?"

"It was okay, I slept most of it. Dad and I haven't gone anywhere today, since he has work. I start next week." He paused, thinking about what to say. He missed her terribly. "Ah, ja. I miss you."

Feliciana giggled, feeling her face heat up. "I miss you too. So, so much!"

Ludwig was glad to hear that. He was starting to wonder the same thing. "What have you been up to?" He relaxed as she went on about her day, smiling to himself at the sound of her voice.

The phone conversation hadn't gone for too long, and right after they hung up, the couple missed each other just as much as they had before they talked, maybe more. Neither was sure what to do with themselves.

* * *

A couple of days passed, and Ludwig found himself dropped off at a large, prestigious school, filled to the brim with very privileged students. Many were on their hundred-dollar phones, others listening to their iPods; it was _very_ different from his old school.

When he stepped inside, people stared. It was as if time stopped, and they were all scrutinizing him with calculating eyes, learning all the information they could just by looking at him. He found himself debating on whether or not he should just turn around and walk back home.

"Hej!" A voice yelled from the crowd, and a boy with spiky blond hair made his way to the German. "You must be the new student! My name is Markus!" He held out a hand. "I was asked to show you around."

Ludwig stared at him a moment, before shaking his hand. "I'm Ludwig. Nice to meet you, Markus."

"There's no need to be so formal, Ludwig!" He patted the German on the back, laughing loudly.

As they made their way through the hallways, Markus went on and on about how he came to Germany from Denmark, and how they were going to be great friends by the end of the year. Markus stopped at a row of lockers and opened one up.

"You can share my locker for now! Just until they find one for you!"

"Um, thanks. But I don't have anything to put in there yet."

"Oh, trust me. You will!" Markus shut the locker tightly and wrapped an around Ludwig's shoulders, continuing his previous one-sided conversation.

"Excuse me." The boys turned to a group of girls, who took one look at Ludwig and giggled. "Um, we were just wondering if you wanted to hang out after school? There's a great place down the road that sells coffee." Ludwig wasn't sure what to do. He'd never been in a predicament like this. Girls usually stayed away from him – well, aside from a certain Italian cutie.

"Ah, I don't think my girlfriend would be happy about that."

Their faces faltered, but one in the front that Ludwig supposed was the leader, just giggled and stepped closer to him. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Geez, these girls were persistent. Ludwig was just about to open his mouth when a rather bored-looking boy with a small curl at the back of his head stepped up to them, crossing his arms and glaring down at the small harem. "What's going on here?" The girls shrunk back and glanced at one another before laughing nervously and hurrying off to their classes. Ludwig would be eternally grateful to this mysterious boy.

"Hej, Oliver! This is Ludwig, the transfer student!" Markus said, turning to Ludwig. "This is Oliver! He's from Norwegia!"

"That's Norway, you dimwit." Oliver nodded to Ludwig, who returned the gesture. Thank Gott there was someone normal in this school! The bell rung and Markus directed Ludwig to his class before heading off to his own.

At lunchtime, Markus insisted that Ludwig sit with them. When he was seated, he noticed a few new faces. One was a boy with white hair who was sitting rather closely to Oliver, another was a blond boy who looked as if he wanted to kill everyone, and a smaller girl with short blond hair.

"Everyone! This is Ludwig! He's new!" Markus yelled to the entire table, earning annoyed glares from all but the little girl. "You know Oliver, that's his little brother, Isak." Isak nodded to him and went back to eating his lunch, attempting to drown out the Dane. "Next to him his Vash, who's from Switzerland. And next to him is his sister, Lily!" Lily waved shyly to him before taking another bite of her sandwich.

Ludwig waved to everyone before digging into his own lunch. He was just getting used to the silence until Markus slapped him on the back and grinned at him mischievously. "So! You have a girlfriend?"

The German boy coughed and nodded. "Ja. Her name is Feliciana," he replied, glancing over at the Dane.

"Seriously? Dude, I thought you just made it up to get those girls off your back! Is she cute? Does she have a pretty sister? Could you hook us up?"

Ludwig sighed and rubbed his forehead. This was going to be a very, _very_ long day.

* * *

When Ludwig got home he immediately started on his homework. There was tons to do and only a few hours to do it. He grabbed his laptop and turned it on, getting all his work set up on his desk. Just as he was about to start, he noticed that he had a new E-mail notification. He opened it and couldn't help the small smile that came to his face.

It read:

**Feliciana Vargas**  
Ve~

"_Ve hello Ludwig! How r u doing? Gilbert told me ur email so I sent u one! Talk 2 u l8er then! By! :)_"

Ludwig debated for a few moments on whether or not to answer. He really needed to start on his homework, but he missed her and wanted to reply. It couldn't hurt, could it? It'd only take him a few minutes at most.

**Ludwig Beilschmidt**  
Re: Ve~

"_Hello, Feliciana. I'm doing well, just getting ready to work on homework. How are you doing?_"

He minimized his E-mail and started researching for his paper, writing things down every once in a while. When he glanced down at the bottom of his screen, the bar of his E-mail had a **(1)** next to it. He tilted his head and clicked on it, bringing up a new unread message.

**Feliciana Vargas**  
Re: Ve~

"_Ludwig! I didn't no u would send 1 back to me! Im so happy! Im ok. Very lonely w/out u. wat have u been up 2? A bunch of us went to Arthurs yesterday and we watched 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. Francis wasn't very happy about that. Lovi thought it was funny tho! LOL :D_"

Wow, she sure did answer quickly. Ludwig clicked the 'Reply' button and answered back, trying to remember the different things that happened in his day. There were so many. He told her about his new 'friends' and how classes were much more difficult than they were at his old school. He decided to leave out the part about getting hit on by that hoard of girls; he really didn't want to make Feliciana upset (and/or murderous; Italians are freaky when they're angry).

Minutes turned to hours, and Ludwig finally managed to finish his homework. It took him a little longer, seeing as he was distracted every now and then by a new message from Feliciana. He put his things away and replied to her last E-mail, telling her that he had to go, since school started early. A minute or two passed before he got an answer.

**Feliciana Vargas**  
Re: Ve~

"_ok :) ill talk 2 u l8r then. Dream of me! I know ill dream of you :) bye bye my handsome Ludwig._"

Ludwig blushed brightly, his heart quickening its pace. She wasn't even there and she still managed to make him feel like a teenage girl. He pondered his response for a few minutes, wondering if he should make a simple or cheesy reply. Well, last time he checked his wallet, his mancard wasn't in it, so he couldn't possibly lose any more of his macho.

**Ludwig Beilschmidt**  
Re: Ve~

"_Good night. You too. Bye, my beautiful Feliciana._"

His cursor hovered over the 'Send' button a moment before he clicked, feeling his face grow warmer still. Shaking his head, he turned off his laptop and grabbed some clean clothes, completely unaware of the extremely happy Italian girl on the other side of the world.

* * *

Feliciana quickened her pace towards the Beilschmidt's house, extremely excited about the movie party at Gilbert's. Sure, Ludwig wouldn't be there, but maybe she'd feel a bit better just being in his house. She knocked, grinning wide when Gilbert opened the door.

"Feli! Hey! Come in!" He said, allowing her to pass inside. Lovina and Antonio followed too, sitting on the love seat once they entered the living room, Lovina practically sitting on Antonio's lap. Feliciana was just about to sit on the couch next to Maddie until Gilbert slid over next to her. So, the younger Italian sat on the ground, shining a fake smile up at the other couples seated on the furniture.

Gilbert smiled back and wrapped his arm around the Canadian, who laid her head down on his shoulder. Antonio hugged Lovina closely, practically pulling her closer into his lap. Everyone looked so content…besides Feliciana, of course. Seeing them together made her miss Ludwig so, so badly.

The movie started and everyone's attention turned to the television. Antonio leaned down and whispered sweet nothings into Lovina's ear, making the elder Italian blush. Gilbert leaned over and kissed Maddie on the cheek, smiling when she planted a soft peck on his lips.

Feliciana couldn't take it. She excused herself and walked into the library, sitting down at the piano. The Italian girl laid her head down on the keys, crying softly to herself.

"Ludwig," she sobbed quietly, pressing an ivory key on the piano. "Come back soon."

* * *

Months passed and Spring Break was approaching fast. Markus had asked if Ludwig wanted to take a trip up to Denmark with him, but the German boy politely refused. He'd rather study and get ready for finals than go clubbing and nurse a hangover the next day. Unfortunately, Spring Break was a few days away, and he still had school tomorrow. So, at the moment, he was in his room, studying for the quiz he had next day.

"Ludwig?" His father called from behind his door, knocking loudly.

"Ja, Vater?" Ludwig answered, standing from his desk and strolling over to the door, opening it quickly.

"Telefon für dich." (_Phone for you_.) The young boy took the phone and nodded to his father, shutting the door when the older man turned the corner.

"Hallo?" Ludwig asked, sitting down on his bed.

"Ludwig! Hello! It's Feli, if you didn't already know," Feliciana giggled on the other line.

The German boy smiled, lying back on his bed, just enjoying her voice. "How could I mistake that voice of yours?"

"Ve~, stop making me blush!"

Ludwig chuckled and closed his eyes. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing really. I'm really excited about Spring Break, though! And school's almost over! Ve~, maybe I'll get to see you during Summer Vacation! Do you have Spring Break off? Or do they not have that in Germany?"

"What do you think we are? Workaholics? Of course we do."

Feliciana giggled, noting the playfulness in his voice. "Well, you are kind of a workaholic. We haven't gotten to talk too much this last month. B-but, it's really okay! I don't mind. I know school has been wearing you out, and you've been catching up with your dad. I just kind of missed you, is all."

Ludwig sighed. He'd been so busy, he didn't have much time to talk with his girlfriend. Sure, they E-mailed back and forth, and occasionally they'd talk on the phone, but it was a rare occurrence. "I'm sorry. I've been really busy lately. But since Spring Break is coming up, I'll have more time to talk."

The Italian girl smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

Their conversation went on, catching up on things that had happened since the last time they talked. Which wasn't much, but they still filled the silences.

"Oh! I have to go! Lovi is calling me." Feliciana's voice saddened. Ludwig had to admit that he was a little upset himself.

"Alright, then. I'll talk to you on Monday, okay?"

"Okies!" Feliciana giggled. "Love you! Bye!" And with that, she hung up.

Ludwig lay there speechless, staring at the ceiling. Did she just say '_love you_'? Feliciana was just as speechless. She couldn't believe she just told him that. Sure, she'd wanted to tell him for about a month now, but she wanted to make sure he felt the same way before she told him. But now it was too late. She couldn't take it back.

Feliciana got up from her spot on the bed and stole out of her room, walking down to the living room where her sister was watching television.

"Lovina?" She asked, sitting on the couch next to her.

Lovina peered over at her, frowning deeply. Not out of frustration, but concern. Feliciana never called her by her full name.

"What's wrong, Feliciana?" She replied, muting the television and turning to her sister.

"I accidentally told Ludwig something I shouldn't have. And I'm so scared that he's going to get upset with me." The younger Italian sobbed, wiping her newly forming tears.

"What did you tell him? It couldn't be too bad."

"I told him that I love him."

Lovina sat there quietly for a moment, mulling it over in her mind. "Yup, that was stupid."

"Lovi! What can I do? What if he breaks up with me? I don't know what I would do without him. How long did you go before you and Tonio told each other?"

The elder Italian blushed deeply. "W-we, um, well…since we've been friends for so long, we've been saying it ever since we got together."

"Ve, that doesn't help!"

"What's with all the yelling?" Julius asked, stepping into living room. "Why are you just sitting there? You only have two hours until you have to pack!"

"P-pack?" Both Italian girls asked, looking at him incredulously.

"Yeah! I told you about it last week! Come on! Let's get going!"

"B-but, where are we going? We have school tomorrow," Feliciana told him, rubbing her eyes.

"I already called your school and told them you two wouldn't be there. And it's a secret. Let's just say it's an early birthday present for you."

The sisters looked at each other before getting up, walking to their rooms to pack for a trip to God-knows where.

* * *

It was Saturday and Ludwig was exhausted. He just wanted to stay home and get some schoolwork done, but his father gave him some money and pushed him out the door, telling him that he needed to get out of the house and today was perfectly sunny – not a cloud in sight.

So, Ludwig went down to the café and sat down at a table, ordering a coffee and grabbing a newspaper. He jumped slightly when someone tapped him on the shoulder. When he spun around, staring back at him were big, bright chestnut eyes.

"F-Feliciana?" He stuttered, his heart beating hard against his chest.

"Ve~, hello Ludwig."

* * *

**So! How was it? *bites nails* cliffhanger! Muahahaha! x3 Ludwig was a bit OOC, heh. Only one or two more chapters! Dx so sad. But I have many, many other ideas for many, many other stories! Like, a SwedenxFem!Finland one, a PrussiaxFem!Canada one, another Prucan one, ah...and some others I can't remember at the moment. xD**

**If you haven't already guessed:**

**Markus - Denmark  
Oliver - Norway  
Isak - Iceland  
Lily - Liechtenstein**

**Alrighty! Replying to some of the reviews from last chapter!**

**_BloodySilverThorns_: Oh, wow. xD that happy, eh? You're very welcome! :3  
_PoisonIvania_: Aww! I'm glad you like this story a lot! :3 and I think my heart breaks every time Feli cries, too. xDD  
_LynnyLiz_: Aww, you're so sweet! :D don't worry, there won't be too many more chapters. I'm sorry I discombobulated you. I didn't mean to! I wasn't planning on making this any longer than ten chapters. xD but I hope the last few chapters make up for it.  
_Emerald-Leaves_: Ah! Dx I didn't even notice that I did that! xD whoops! We'll just say Gil and Marx aren't on good terms right now. xD heh.  
_Liung Arkeanda_: Hahaha xD cliffies are so fun, though! It's hard not to obsess over them! Whoops! Dx I'll go back and change that. Sorry for confusing you. xD your review is very amusing.  
_xTrateltx_: Oh, it's quite alright! xD thank you for reviewing, though. Aww! Well, I'm glad my story is the exception. xDD**

**And thank you to all of the others that have reviewed! I'm sorry I haven't replied to many of them T.T I usually read from my iPod, and I don't think I can reply to reviews there (and I have a super crappy laptop, so I'm only really able to write on it). So, I'll try really hard to start replying to reviews from now on. x3 you all make me so happy, just reading my fanfiction! Especially since this is one of my first! Thank you for keeping me motivated! :3**

**Anyway, hasta la pasta! xD  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and Genderbent!Spamano. Rated T for mild language.**

**Author Comments: AH! I'm sorry it's super late! Dx I got a job and haven't really had too much time to think/write fanfiction. Please forgive meeeee! (Geez, I sound like Ritsu from Fruits Basket!) This chapter...I don't like it too much. But there's lots of fluff! And some brotherly love! xD I wasn't sure what else to write, and in a way I'm delaying the end! This is the first part of the last actual chapter. Then, afterwards, there'll be an Epilogue. So, I'm sort of keeping you all from epic heartbreak! xDD okay, just kidding. Um, on with the fanfiction, I guess! The next one shouldn't take as long! I get Tuesdays and Weekends off, so hopefully I'll use that time to update. Hopefully the next part will be better, and I hope you all don't hate me for this awful chapter!**

**Also! Thank you for the reviews! I've reached 100! AH! You all are too good to me! xD**

* * *

"Surprise!" Julius yelled from his perch behind Feliciana, a goofy smile plastered over his face.

Ludwig glanced behind the two, a few others watching from afar. "H-how did you all get here?" He asked, standing from his seat.

"I invited them," Ludwig's father said as he made his way into view. "I felt a little badly about taking you from all of your friends, and you've been doing very well in school, so I figured you deserved a little gift." Marx's lips turned into a deep frown. "But do not think that this means you can slack off next week! You _are_ going to school."

Ludwig nodded, his expression still extremely surprised. "Y-yes, Sir."

A blur of silver shot from across the sidewalk to where Ludwig stood in a matter of seconds, just about knocking him down to the ground. "_Bruder_!" Gilbert cried, hugging Ludwig so tightly the younger almost couldn't breathe. Ludwig's eyebrows rose in shock, and he patted his brother lightly on the top of the head. This was a bit out of character for the albino.

"Ah, hey Gilbert."

Gilbert pulled away and wiped his eyes quickly with the back of his arm, attempting to rid of any evidence that he might have started crying. Three others had made their way up to the group, Gilbert retreating back to his spot next to Maddie.

Ludwig paused a moment, a question on the tip of his tongue. "Wait, how did you convince your brother to let you come along?" He asked his brother's girlfriend curiously.

The Canadian smiled, shifting her eyes uncomfortably. "Lovina talked to him for me," she replied quietly. Well, that explained it.

"There's no way I was going on this stupid trip with idiotic boys!" Lovina shouted, her usual frown planted on her mouth.

"Ve~, but I'm a girl!" Feliciana countered, pouting.

"You don't count."

"Be nice to your sister, Lovi~! It's almost her birthday!" Antonio said, grinning down at the angry Italian holding onto his hand.

"Stupid! It's almost _my_ birthday, too!"

As crazy as it sounded, Ludwig actually missed this - a lot.

"Ve~!" Feliciana turned her attention to her grandfather. "Grandpa! Where are we staying tonight?" Upon further investigation, Ludwig realized they all had their luggage there with them.

"Marx said we could stay with him at his house," Julius replied.

"But girls get the guest room and boys get Ludwig's room. Do not even _think_ of sneaking off and having sexual intercourse with your significant others! It will _not_ be tolerated," Marx told them sternly, and Ludwig had to keep himself from face-palming. People were staring at them like they were part of a circus.

"But Lovi, we've alread-," he heard Antonio say before Lovina stomped his foot, the Spaniard emitting a quiet hissing sound at the pain. Ludwig really _didn't_ want to know.

"Alright! Well, Feliciana, you and Ludwig go hang out. We'll be touristing with Marx. Call if you get lost, and I trust you to take care of my Granddaughter," Julius told him, the tone of his voice changing rapidly from overexcited to stern and serious.

"O-of course!" Ludwig replied nervously.

Julius grinned and waved to them, heading off with the rest of the group, Marx looking as if he wanted to cry.

Lovina peered back at the couple and glared at Ludwig, as if to say, _'do anything to my sister and I __**will**__ end your life.'_ She turned her head to face forward and fell back in step with her Spanish boyfriend.

It was awkward for a moment before Feliciana decided to speak up. "Ve~, let's walk around, Ludwig!" She said, grabbing his hand and walking off the opposite way from the group. They strolled for a few minutes, one thing on their mind. While Feliciana was contemplating on how to bring up the topic, Ludwig was having an internal battle. _'How do I tell her?'_ He asked himself.

"Feliciana," Ludwig started hesitantly just as Feliciana simultaneously said, "Ludwig." They both paused a moment, awkwardly fidgeting.

"You go first," The Germany boy said.

"Um, okay. Ah, well, about what I said on the phone the other day…" She trailed off.

"Th-that's what I wanted to talk about too."

The moment she feared was upon them. He was going to tell her _'I can't love you'_ or _'Things are going too fast.'_

"S-so?" She couldn't look at him.

"I love you, too," he told her, stopping in his tracks. She seized her walking, eyes wide, heart pounding wildly. He…he what?

"Huh?" She turned to him, biting her bottom lip.

"I love you, Feliciana."

The Italian girl stood dumbfounded, staring at him. Then, all in one moment, she leaped onto him, pressing her face into his neck. He attempted to steady himself, holding himself up against the wall.

"You aren't just saying that, are you?" She asked nervously.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" He held her tightly, pecking her gently on the neck.

"It just seems too good to be true."

They were quiet a moment, basking in each other's warmth. Feliciana's lips ached for his kisses, and her fingers longed for his golden locks - especially today. His hair wasn't pulled back as usual. No, it lay down against his head, softly shading his eyes and blanketing the tips of his ears. It looked spectacularly…sexy. If she thought he was hot before, he was even more attractive now. It made her feel all giddy inside.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had let go of his neck, pulled back slightly, threaded her fingers through his hair, and crushed her lips against his.

He was taken off guard for a moment, but quickly responded, eyes shut tightly. Oh, how he'd longed for this – her smell, her taste – he was afraid he'd never get to experience this again. He couldn't care less about the onlookers.

"Hej! Ludwig! Who ya suckin' face with?" A very familiar, and utterly irritating, voice called from down the street. The blond boy pulled away hesitantly, running his tongue across his swollen lips before turning to the source of the voice. Markus. Of course. Wasn't he supposed to be in Copenhagen? "Oh! Is this that Italian girl you were talking about?" The group neared them, much to Ludwig's dismay. He softly set Feliciana down, ignoring her sound of protest.

"Ja. Um, we were just going." Ludwig tried to dismiss himself and Feliciana, but Markus managed to, once again, get in the way.

"Oh, really? Looked more like you were smoochin' to me!" Markus glanced down at Feliciana, grinning madly. Ludwig suddenly felt very protective over the Italian girl. "No wonder you turned those other girls down; she's freakin' cute!"

Feliciana glanced up at Ludwig. "Other girls?"

"Yeah! You should see 'em! It's like watching angry bees on a hive!"

Feliciana's fists clenched and her eyes narrowed, making her look horrifyingly like her sister. "I'll kill them," she said darkly. This wasn't good. An angry Italian was a complete disaster.

"W-we should go," Ludwig said quickly, taking her hand and stepping past Markus. The Danish boy attempted to follow the couple, but Oliver quickly diverted his attention, to which Ludwig would thank him for later.

Feliciana was unnaturally quiet as they walked, which unnerved Ludwig to no end.

"Why didn't you tell me, Ludwig?" She asked faintly, not glancing up at him.

He gripped her hand tighter, searching his brain for an answer. "Because I didn't think it was important," he told her slowly. "Just because other girls are flirting with me doesn't mean I want them to."

She sighed and placed her head on his arm, looking up at him with those beautiful brown eyes of hers. "Since we're in a relationship, we have to be completely honest with each other, okay?"

Ludwig nodded, gazing down into her eyes. "Of course."

She smiled wide and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, returning to her bubbly personality. "Ve~, you're such a good boyfriend, Ludwig!"

He blushed slightly, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Ah, thanks."

* * *

**Well, there you go! Next part should be up soon! D:**

**Ciao! x3**


	14. Chapter 13 Part 2

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight PrussiaxFem!Canada and Genderbent!Spamano. Rated T for mild language.**

**Author Comments: HI! xD Two chapters in a week! I must really like you guys. xD  
So, this is the last chapter! D: but don't worry! There's an epilogue after this! So, in a way, this is the second-to-last chapter! :3 I hope you all enjoy it! I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter, but hopefully you think it's becoming as the last chapter!  
Thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter! *_* you all are amazing! **

**I do have a slight warning! ^^; there is some talk of 'sexual activities' and whatnot. But what else would a bunch of teenage boys talk about when they're in the same room? xD**

When the couple was done sightseeing, Ludwig took Feliciana back to his house. As they entered, an overwhelming smell drifted to the open door. The two waltzed into the oversized kitchen, smiling softly at the image they were met with. Marx and Julius were managing the stove, the German man looking slightly pissed at the babbling Italian. Gilbert and Maddie were mixing something in a large bowl, the former making a huge mess and the latter scolding him for it. Lovina and Antonio were standing at the large island counter, rolling some dough into a large, flat circle, Antonio brushing his hands against hers every once in a while in an attempt to make her blush.

Ludwig cleared his throat, making the temporary kitchen staff stop what they were doing and turn their attention to the young blond. All, except for the hotheaded Italian and the irritated German, smiled at the two, welcoming them into the kitchen, putting them to work in an instant.

Dinner was…different, to say the least. Usually Ludwig and Marx would share a leisurely conversation over last night's leftovers, but this dinner was very noisy – not that Ludwig was complaining. Feliciana and Marx seemed to be getting along which was nice, and Gilbert looked as if he was gradually forgiving their father for all his past wrongdoings.

"Ve~, so Nonno, how do you know Ludwig and Gilbert's daddy?" Feliciana asked, taking a bite of her pizza.

"Marx and I went to High School together!" The eldest Italian replied happily. Marx backed him up with a nod.

"Wow, really? Ve~, isn't that cool, Ludwig?" Feliciana turned to him and grinned. "It's kind of like us!"

Ludwig nodded, smiling softly. "Ja," he replied, running his fingers through his hair.

"So you went to High School in Germany, Julius?" Antonio asked.

Julius shook his head. "Nope! Marx and I went to school in Italy!"

"Dude, really?" Gilbert practically shouted from the other side of the table. "I never knew you went to Italy, Dad!"

"It was only for a year," Marx commented, taking a sip of his beer.

"Yeah, but we managed to get so close that year!" Julius said loudly, patting Marx roughly on the back, the German's beverage almost going down the wrong pipe.

"We didn't-."

"Hey! I remember this one time when your dad brought a really pretty Italian girl into the janitor's closet, and-…no, wait." Julius flashed a goofy grin, "That was me! Nevermind!"

Everyone facepalmed simultaneously - besides Feliciana, who was busy drowning her pasta in Parmesan cheese.

* * *

"So, Kiku told us to tell you that he wished he could have come too and that he hopes you're doing well," Antonio said randomly as he donned his pajamas.

"Oh, that's nice of him," Ludwig answered awkwardly. Although he used to see the Spaniard frequently, he still wasn't used to holding a conversation with him.

"So, Ludwig," Gilbert said mischievously, grinning suspiciously, "how far have you and Feli gotten?"

The German boy blushed. "Just kissing, is all. How about you?" He honestly didn't want to know, but after seeing that smug grin on his brother's face he guessed he'd hear about it anyway.

"Kesesese~! My innocent brother's only on first base." Gilbert leant back, shutting his eyes. "Maddie and I have gotten to second."

"Good for you," Ludwig deadpanned.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's not really a competition," Antonio retorted, sitting on the makeshift bed upon the floor.

"You're just a good sport because you've gotten to third with your grumpy Italian Princess."

Antonio laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Actually, Lovi and I have gotten to fourth. Er, home base."

Gilbert sat up quickly, looking at Antonio with the most serious face Ludwig had ever seen on him. "You scored and never told me?"

"I didn't think it was a big deal!"

"Of course it is! You actually got that angry girlfriend of yours to put out?"

At this point, Ludwig tuned them out. He wasn't too interested in the conversation, to be honest. He was more interested in going to sleep.

"So, Ludwig," Gilbert said, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"What now, Gil?" He asked irritated, not peering over at his brother.

"I hear that Feli said that she looooooves you."

"I heard that from Lovi, too," Antonio declared.

The younger blushed nervously. "Well, yeah, she did," Ludwig told them, fidgeting with the edge of the comforter.

"And?" The others asked in unison.

"I said it back today."

"Aww!" Gilbert shouted, tackling his brother. "My little bro is in love! How sweet!"

"Ack! Gil! Get off of me!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the girl's bedroom, they weren't too far from the same topic.

"Ve~! Ludwig told me that he loves me today!" Feliciana said excitedly, hugging the pillow tightly.

"Aww, really? That's sweet," Maddie said, smiling softly.

"I'll kill 'im," Lovina replied, clenching her fists tightly.

The Canadian girl looked at Feliciana nervously, but the younger Italian girl just shrugged it off. She was used to her sister saying things like this. "So, um, is it just me or are men pushy when it comes to taking it to the next step?" Maddie asked randomly, lying back on the bed.

"Oh my gosh, yes! The only reason I actually gave it to him was because I thought it'd shut him up."

"Did it work?"

"Ve~ give what to him?" Feliciana asked curiously, not exactly understanding their conversation.

"No," Lovina scoffed, ignoring her sister, "it just gives them more reason to act like bunnies if they think they can get it all the time."

"Oo, bunnies are cute!"

"Ugh, Gil has been on my case for a month now about 'giving it up'. I've been thinking of just giving in," Maddie sighed.

"No! Don't do it! He'll want it all the time. Just play the 'if you love me, you'll wait' card. He won't be able to say otherwise. If he keeps on hassling you, just call me. I'll put him in his place."

"Oh! We're talking about sex! Ve~, Ludwig's never made advances on me! He's such a gentleman," Feliciana swooned, giggling softly.

"It's because he knows I'll strip him of his man-parts if he even attempts it."

Feliciana pouted. "No! He's the perfect boyfriend. He'd never do anything I didn't want. You two are just jealous."

"Yeah right! Who would want some macho potato anyway?" Lovina shook her head and lay back, closing her eyes. "Besides, despite having the libido of a sex addict, that stupid Spaniard is perfect." A small smile played on her lips.

Maddie giggled. "And although Gil can be narcissistic and completely full of himself, he always remembers me and I can be myself in front of him."

The two settled down into the large bed, closing their eyes and drifting off into sleep. Feliciana smiled and crawled out of bed, softly striding to the door and shutting it quietly behind her.

* * *

Feliciana wandered towards the bathroom, only to stop when she noticed a light beaming from the porch. Curiously, the Italian girl walked down the few steps and silently opened the door, poking her head into the room. Inside, on a poofy chair, sat her knight in shining armour. Except he was wearing pants and a sweater. But still! He was wearing armour on the inside! Er…yeah.

"Couldn't sleep either?" She asked, giggling when his head jolted up and his body stiffened in surprise.

"O-oh, hello Feliciana," he replied, setting down his book. "What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Feliciana stepped up to him and took a seat in his lap, leaning sideways against his chest. He opened his mouth to protest, but quickly closed it and wrapped his arms tightly around her, kissing the top of her head softly. "I'm so happy."

Ludwig nodded, nuzzling his face into her neck. He was happy too. So, so happy.

Feliciana giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. She threaded her fingers through the back of his hair, sighing contently when he placed soft kisses up to her lips, pecking her gently against the mouth. The Italian girl blushed slightly but returned the kiss, her lips lingering against his a few seconds before she pulled away. "Mm, you taste really good."

The blond held her tighter, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek before picking her up and setting her down on the chair. "You aren't afraid of dogs, are you?"

She thought a moment before shaking her head, smiling wide. "Nope! I love animals!"

Ludwig smiled slightly and opened the door to the porch, three hounds rushing in quickly. A large German Shepard strode up to Feliciana, sniffing her hand before licking it playfully. She laughed loudly and leaned down, scratching him behind the ears. "Aww, they're so cute!" She cried, nuzzling her face into his fur coat.

"The one you have now is Blackie." He pointed to a Doberman who was begging to be let inside. "This one is Berlitz." And lastly, he motioned to a large Golden Retriever. "And this baby is Aster." Ludwig knelt down and ruffled Aster's fur, kissing his muzzle playfully, cooing softly to the dog.

Feliciana couldn't help but fall more in love.

* * *

Days passed slowly, many things happening and lots of new friendships being made as well as old ones getting closer. It was, unfortunately, Saturday morning, the day that the others were to go back home. Feliciana was more than upset by that fact, clinging to Ludwig ever since he got up.

The couple stepped into the dining room and sat at the table. Luckily no one was around, and they could speak alone.

"So, um, it's your birthday today, ja?" Ludwig said nervously, loosening his collar slightly.

"Si! I'm so happy you remembered!" She cried cheerfully, scooting her chair closer to him.

"I, um, have a present for you."

Feliciana blushed, smiling wide. "You didn't have to! I'm very happy with seeing you as my present!"

Ludwig smiled a little, pulling out a small wrapped box from his pocket. "I couldn't help myself."

She took it from him and grinned, unwrapping it with gusto. When she was done, a small black box sat in her hand. She blushed and opened it, gazing at the silver ring inside. "L-Ludwig…"

"It's a promise ring."

Tears fell from her eyes as she took it out and examined it. "It's beautiful."

He cleared his throat and took the ring, softly placing it on her left ring finger. "I promise that I will always love you and I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Feliciana smiled softly, taking his hands in hers. "I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

Ludwig chuckled and leant in, kissing her softly on the lips.

"Aww! So cute!" Gilbert screeched, skipping into the dining room, a video camera in hand. "When you have cute little German-Italian spawn, I'll show this to them!"

Ludwig pulled back quickly, a massive blush on his cheeks. "G-Gilbert!"

Feliciana giggled, watching her amazing boyfriend chase his brother around the room. She couldn't wait for their future together.

* * *

"Come on! We need to go through the bag check x-ray thingies!" Julius shouted, trying to get the attention of his other passengers.

Gilbert hugged his brother and father one last time before running over and joining the Italian man. Feliciana looked up at Ludwig sadly, fiddling with the ring on her finger. He smiled softly and leaned down, kissing her hard. The Italian girl kissed back the same, placing her hands on his cheeks, not caring about those watching. Slowly they pulled away.

"I'll come see you when school is over. Okay?" He told her, running a thumb across her cheek.

She nodded, pecking him softly on the lips. "I love you. A lot."

"I love you too, Feliciana."

He watched as she stepped away and followed after the others, looking back just once to blow him a kiss.

* * *

**There you have it! :3 I was originally going to have this up on the 24th, but I just couldn't. So, this is a late 2 year anniversary present to my wonderful gf! :D er, in a way. ^^;  
**

**When I was writing the part where the girls are talking I was watching Anastasia, so if it seems like Feli's going to burst into song about love, then I fully blame that. xD seriously, though, I can see that happening.**

**But anyway! I'm so sad that this story is coming to a close! D: I've been enjoying it so much! But don't worry! After this one I'll be writing a PrussiaxFem!Canada spin-off. :3 So stay tuned for that one! Maybe one day I'll write a Spamano spin-off of it, too. :3**

**Thank you all for the reviews and favourites and story alerts! They've made me so happy! :3**

**Hopefully I'll have the epilogue up soon! :3**

**Ta-ta for now!**


	15. Epilogue

**Summary: Feliciana, an Italian girl, stays after school to finish her painting when she meets a very handsome pianist from Germany. AU, Genderbending. Fem!ItalyxGermany, very slight Genderbent!Spamano. Rated T for mild language.**

**Author's Notes: I can't believe this is the last chapter/epilogue! D: I hope it's okay and not disappointing! This chapter is a little jumpy, just some mini-stories, I guess. :D well, here you go!**

-4 Years Later-

Feliciana set the picture frame, complete with picture, against the mantle above the fireplace. She looked at the picture happily, remembering the day it was taken. It had been Lovina's wedding to Antonio, the beautiful wedding dress fitting snugly against her little baby bump. Feliciana was, of course, the maid of honor, Maddie and Bella standing next to the newlywed as bridesmaids. Her eyes drifted to the other side where Antonio was flashing a brilliant grin to the camera, Gilbert and Francis on either side of him. She couldn't help but blush at the other man in the background, blond hair slicked back into its usual hairstyle and a small gleam in his bright blue eyes.

The front door opened slowly, footsteps tapping the wooden floor of their new apartment. "Feli?" A deep voice asked, followed by the closing of a door and louder steps making their way in her direction.

"I'm in here, Ludwig," she replied, not once looking away from the picture.

The footsteps quieted when he'd made his way to the carpet of the living room, a small smile on his lips. "It looks nice in here," he told her, setting down a few things on the couch and fidgeting with something in his coat pocket.

"Thanks!" She giggled, straightening up a few things on the mantle. "I just got this picture in the mail today and thought it'd look great here. Ve~, I'm so happy for sorella. She and Tonio are so perfect together." Her smile disappeared slightly. "Do you think we'll ever get married, Ludwig? I mean, it doesn't have to be right away, but-." She turned around, the words catching in her throat. The Italian girl glanced down at her boyfriend who was kneeling before her, holding out a box with a ring implanted inside.

"That's what I wanted to talk about, Feliciana."

"L-Ludwig, is that?"

He nodded. "Yes. Will you marry me, Feliciana?"

She was speechless for a moment, trying to force her mind to function again. After a second or two she cupped her hand over her mouth, tears falling from her eyes, and leaped onto him, almost making him fall backwards. "Yes! Of course I will!"

Ludwig chuckled and pet her hair, moving her back so he could sit up straight. He pulled the ring from its sitting place and grabbed her right hand, placing it onto her ring finger. "Here in Germany we wear our rings on the right hand. I hope that's okay."

Feliciana giggled and pulled up his chin, kissing him gently on the lips. "As long as I'm wearing your ring, it's perfectly fine."

Ludwig smiled and placed his hands on her cheeks, kissing her deeply. They'd been together four years and yet their passion hadn't dwindled. When they pulled apart, a large grin played on the Italian's lips. "Should we finish this in our room?"

The German man smirked, standing from his spot and pulling her to her feet, quickly walking to the bedroom.

* * *

Antonio drove hurriedly around the hospital parking lot, cussing out the other drivers in Spanish. Of course, on one of the most important days of his life there was no parking spot to be seen! He found a patch of grass and parked there, rushing out the door and towards the hospital doors. Sure, Lovina would be pissed if it was towed, but how could she smack him with a new baby in her arms?

He ran up the stairs and to the information desk, completely out of breath. "What delivery room is Lovina Carriendo in?" He asked almost too quickly for the receptionist to hear him. Luckily, she was an expert on freaked-out-new-father speak.

"Room 105," she told him, smirking slightly at his frazzled appearance.

"Thanks so much Miss Arlovskaya!" He shouted as he ran off down the hallway.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. New fathers were always so paranoid. She didn't even have enough time to tell him that he was going the wrong way.

Antonio got to the room and threw open the door, stepping in quickly. "Lovina! I'm he-," he stopped when he realized that the faces around the room were not the ones he knew. "Um, heh, wrong room." He apologized to the unknown people, looks of amusement on their faces, and made his way out the door, bolting back to the reception desk. Just as he was about to speak, she pointed off to the other hallway. Antonio thanked her and ran down what was hopefully the correct hallway, looking closely at the number this time. When he was sure this was the right room, he swung open the door. Lying in the bed was a very, very grumpy Italian. Ah, yes, this was indeed the correct room. "Lovina, I'm sorry. Traffic was horrible, I went to the wrong room; I really hope you haven't had the baby yet!"

Lovina scowled deeply. "Of course not, you bastard. I'm barely dilated," she told him angrily, looking the other way nervously. "Now get over here. I-I need you to hold my hand."

He smiled softly and stepped over to her, taking her hand into his lightly. "It'll be fine. There's no need to be afraid, okay? I'm right here."

"I-I'm not scared, dammit! I-I'm just a little worried."

Antonio nuzzled her hand against his face, kissing her palm gently. "I love you, Lovina."

She tried to bite back a smile. "I love you too, Antonio."

* * *

"She's so pretty," Feliciana cooed, holding the newborn in her arms. "Have you picked a name for her yet?"

Antonio turned to Lovina, who was sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, and back to his sister-in-law. "I think we decided on Maria," he replied, smiling down at his new daughter.

"Such a cute name for my little niece! Ve~, Ludwig, isn't that a cute name?" She turned to the German man who sat next to her. He nodded, planting a soft kiss against her temple.

"Feliciana!" Antonio exclaimed, gazing at the beautiful ring on her finger. "Is that an engagement ring?"

"WHAT?" Lovina screamed, sitting up quickly. "Who the hell said you two could get hitched?"

"Oh! You're awake!" Feliciana said happily, handing Maria to her father. "I wanted to tell you both when you were awake!" She giggled, wrapping her arm around Ludwig's. "Ludwig proposed! We're getting married next year."

"You should be happy I'm confined to my bed or else you'd be dead, Potato Bastard."

"Yes, yes. Of course, Lovina," Ludwig chuckled, only too used to the verbal abuse of his future sister-in-law.

* * *

"Ve~, Ludwig?" Feliciana asked quietly, stepping out of the bathroom, a happy bounce in her step.

"What is it?" He replied, not looking up from his newspaper.

She took his hand into hers, their wedding rings glistening in the fluorescent light. "I'm pregnant."

Ludwig turned his head so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash. "Really?" He jumped up, rubbing his hand against her small, almost non-existent baby bump. "I'm so happy."

"Ve~, Ludwig! Are you crying?" She giggled, wiping the salty water from his cheek.

"N-no, I'm not crying. My eyes just watered for a moment."

She laughed and held his face in her hands, kissing him deeply. Who knew that the day they met in the Music Room would lead to the perfect life with the perfect man?

* * *

"Mommy?" The small girl asked, peering up at Feliciana with beautiful blue eyes just like her father's. "Are you okay?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm sorry," she replied, patting the small girl on the head. "It's time for you to go to bed now, though."

"Aww, do I have to?"

"Yes, go brush your teeth. I'll come tuck you in when you're done, okay?"

Her daughter nodded and got up, walking over to the bathroom.

Feliciana set down the book on the coffee table and lay back on the couch, sighing contently. Who knew she would get so caught up looking at a photo album?

She felt her feet lift off the couch and a weight plop down onto the cushion they had previously been on.

"Looking at the old album?" The voice she knew only as Ludwig asked, hands gently massaging her feet.

"Yup! Ve~, I remember it like it was yesterday." She sat up and cuddled to his side, nuzzling her face into his neck.

"Yes, so do I." He kissed her forehead, smiling blissfully, like there was no one happier in the world than he.

This story is at its end, but for Ludwig and Feliciana, well, their story has just begun.

* * *

**AH! IT'S OVER! D: I'm so happy and so sad! I'm actually on the verge of tears (well, probably because I haven't slept and I have to go to work in about an hour xD)! I honestly didn't think I'd get so much feedback! And I'm so happy so many of you liked it! I definitely will miss writing this little fanfiction, but there are much more to come! :D the first chapter of my Fem!CanadaxPrussia AU Fanfiction will be up as soon as I figure out a title for it. :D**

**I'd like to thank all of my reviewers! You've all made this fanfiction worth while and I couldn't have done it without you! You've made me so happy!**

**I would type up all of you that have reviewed, but unfortunately I don't think I have the time. So, thank you all once again! It's meant to much to me!**

**I hope you all will follow my new stories (Fem!CanadaxPrussia, SuFin, and maybe another GerIta). :3 Thank you, thank you, thank you sooooooo much! I can't stop saying that! :D**

**And I hope you liked this chapter! I meant for it to be longer, but that didn't happen. D: but, let's hope it lived up to your standards! :D**

**Good bye for now! :3 and, once again, thank you!**


End file.
